The American naturalist.

THE

AMERICAN NATURALIST,

AN ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE

NATURAL HISTORY.

A. S. PACKARD, Jr. and F. W. PUTNAM.
R. H. WARD,

VOLUME IX.

SALEM, MASS.
PEABODY ACADEMY OP SCIENCE.
1875.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME IX.

T ZEE IE

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. IX.-JANUABY, 1875. -No. 1.

THE PINE SNAKE OF NEW JERSEY.

In the " pines" of southern New Jersey, which probably is the
northern limit of the species, is a notable serpent, reputed to
attain the great length of nearly twelve feet, and whose body is

\vh t m i\ b ( ilh (1 tin m< ni ol p .pu i ,b nations '] his rep
tile lias a shiny coat of a soft creamy white, upon which is laid,
much in the Dolly Varden mode, showy mottlings or blotches,
which, beginning at the neck, are of an intensely dark brown or
chocolate color, but which toward the tail lighten up into a pale
bright chestnut. Such is the pine snake: and its habitat and
traits are well expressed in the beautifully significant name which

sider the formidable size it. is said to reach, together with its
notably harmless nature, and the splendid adornings of its scaly

The first time I saw the pine snake alive was eighteen years
ago. 1 was on the steamboat going from Keyport lo New York.
It was the berry season, and persons from the pines were on

2

THE PINE SNAKE OF NEW JERSEY.

board taking their eggs and "huckleberries" to the city market.
The Pines, so called, had not up to that time been visited by me.
"Forrard" of the boat, being the place where the hucksters,
farmers and fishermen most did congregate, was a sudden and
unusual commotion. One solitary woman held her own in this
crowd of men. She was from the Pines, and in her way was an
intensely thorough-going business body. She had a wagon-load
of eggs and berries, which latter she had bought of the pickers,
and on them she expected to " realize " handsomely. The assist-
ant captain, an elderly and corpulent man, was collecting the fare.
Approaching the female huckster, whom he knew well, he accosted
her with " Come, Peggy, your fare." "Yes, Cap'en, but jist hold
my comforter till I git my pus out." And in a trice a pair of pine
snakes, concealed beneath the woman's shawl, were slung around
the captain's neck. The old man's example was electric ! Such
accelerated evolutions ! It seemed neck or nothing with every-
body but the huckster woman, who sat shaking with laughter.
She had retained hold of the reptiles by the tails, so that they
were left in her hands. She was taking them to Barnum, who
probably would give her a few shillings, and a few tickets to his
show. Prof. Baird had just before requested me to get a pair of
these reptiles for the Smithsonian. My mind was made up that
these should go to the Professor. At this juncture a fisherman
whispered into the woman's ear, " Keep your eyes skinned, Aunty,
a science man 's around." The woman became at once very exact-
ing. I bought the pair at an unreasonable price ; but an acci-
dent prevented their ever seeing Washington. They were of
both sexes, I think, and were about three and a half feet long.
Their harmlessness surprised me. Even my little children played
with them. Indeed the late Prof. Torrey, a good many years ago,
had a pair that were allowed the freedom of his study floor. The
female of my pair laid seven eggs, each about five-eighths of an
inch long. From their size they must have been premature.

Three summers ago a friend captured a fine female specimen
and sent me. It was in good condition, nearly six feet in length,
and as thick as my wrist. To my surprise the beast was incorri-
gibly irritable; and kept up a vicious blowing, and darting at me,
each time hitting her nose against the glass cover of her box, so
that, much to my grief, she knocked off the hard scale on the tip
of her snout. The cause of this unexpected conduct was not far

THE PINE SNAKE OP NEW JERSEY. 3

to seek. The poor thing had the cares of maternity coming upon
her. On the 18th of July she laid twelve white eggs ; and a
beautiful sight did they present. There were two clusters, the
eggs adhering to one another. Two of the eggs were under the
average size. These seemed to have been laid first. There was
one still smaller which seemed to have been laid the last. In one
of these clusters were seven eggs and in the other five. I was
astonished at their size. A single egg measured twenty-two lines
in length, and sixteen in width. They were in fact as large as
the eggs of an ordinary bantam fowl. One of them weighed 543
grs., and the whole weighed about fifteen ounces avoirdupois.
They were of nearly the same form and size at each end, except
that at the upper end, or the end last evicted, was a little cusp, or
teat-like prominence, precisely such as characterizes the fossil cop-
rolites, and due to the same cause, the nipping off, or closing up
of the cloaca, as the egg in its soft condition passed out. The
eggs at this precise moment must be quite soft, as they were
agglutinated together side by side. An attempt to separate a
pair succeeded in pulling off a portion of the shell which adhered
to the other egg. In this regard the resemblance to insect eggs
was striking. The shell had a fine and pretty marking, as of
reticulation.

An attempt was made to hatch the eggs, but without success.
They were put in a box of sand, which was moistened, and every
effort made to preserve the proper temperature by keeping il
warm ; but the eggs perished. It is curious that in all my inquiry
of the old settlers in the Pines, I have learned nothing about the
eggs of the pine snake, — no one, so far as I could ascertain, had

It is interesting to observe the pine snake drink. It lays its
head usually flat upon the water, letting the lower jaw just sink a
little below the surface, when with a very uniform movement, the
water is drawn up into the mouth and passed into its throat. It
is the same as the drinking of a horse ; that is, it is a true drink-
ing. With a snake, lapping is an impossibility ; the form and
position of the tongue arc unsuitcd for such an act. The tongue
of a serpent is like a flattened cord, divided at the forward end
into two pointed threads as soft and flexible as silken fibres. This
delicate organ is projected from a round orifice in the middle, and
somewhat forward of the trough or hollow of the lower jaw. And

4

THE PINE SNAKE OF NEW JERSEY.

a very beautiful functional arrangement all this is ; for as might
be conjectured, when swallowing its prey entire, the tongue must
be put out of the way. In this emergency it actually disappears
from the mouth altogether, being withdrawn at the orifice men-
tioned. Drinking, with the pine snake, is a slow affair. I have
several times watched it by the clock. Once it drank exactly live
minutes without taking breath. It then paused, looked about for
three minutes, and went at drinking again, occupying precisely
five minutes as before, thus making ten minutes. The amount of
water drank was a little over a gill. Previous to this drinking
she had been without water four weeks.

The reptiles have seemed to me specially to be capricious and
fastidious about feeding in confinement. The pair of small pine
snakes mentioned at the outset ate young chickens just from the
nest, but would not touch mice. My large one for a whole month
after laying her eggs had not eaten anything. ' A young chimney
swallow was given her, but,- though the little thing fluttered and
cried, she took no notice of it. A .young chick three days old was
offered, nor would she notice it. Both birds were removed unhurt,
in tact, untouched. A rat with a limb broken by the trap was
next put in her box. Her attention was at once aroused. After

ing the rat on its side with her nose. With a squeak, the poor
thin- turned its face towards its grim :iss:iilant. The latter with
head erect, but motionless, and tongue quivering, kept its eyes
steadily on its victim. There was a sudden spring, and the rat's
nose was in the grip of the monster's mouth. Quickly, but delib-
erately, the snake held its victim against the side of the box ; then
setting the sharp edge of each of the long scuta or abdominal
scales on the floor, as a fulcrum, brought a part of its body, like
the convex side of a strong bow, against its prey, forcing it to the
side of the box with a compression that made the bones of the rat
give a crackling sound. The suffering of the victim was but for
a moment, as I have no doubl that the spine was broken instantly.
Although the prey was quite dead, there was still that singular

was relaxed. Quietly now the snake began the act of swallowing
its prey. It commenced with the head. The action of the crea-
ture is very interesting. It is not by a uniform movement of the
entire prey that the swallowing is performed. The snake opens

6

a farmer's boy, who tied a string around its tail, and having
taken it home, tied the string to a small bush near the kitchen
door. Not intending anything, the boy said nothing about it.
As the family were at supper, the snake commenced blowing.
This was heard by the good mother, who cried out, " There, that
bull's got into the corn field again ! " The boy broke into laugh-
ter, and then told what he had done. And well do I remember
my boyish terror at hearing a similar sound. It was the restrained
bellowing of a bull, which came upon me suddenly in a field.
There is nothing sibilant in this blowing of the pine snake, not
the slightest hiss about it. The animal slowly fills its long thorax
with air, and then expels it with a bellowing which is really for-
midable.

Observations made on an animal in confinement should be
weighed accordingly. A fact given me by an old resident in the
" Pines" would indicate that the pine snake is a great feeder. He
said he saw one killed, out of which were taken two young rabbits
and twelve quail eggs (the eggs may have been her own). This
snake likes to get under barns, without doubt in quest of rats and
mice. But for the above statement, I might have inferred from
my specimen that the species is a moderate feeder, as it often
refused food offered it. About a week after the swallowing of the
two rats I put a live one into the snake's box. She was not
hungry, and was evidently annoyed by the rat's presence. So she
made a dart, striking it on its side. The rat, plucky in its terror,
turned upon and bit its assailant. This was a new experience to
the reptile, and momentarily dazed with incomprehension of the
situation, it recoiled upon itself. It was, however, beside itself
but for a moment, for it instantly became alive with subtle action.
The tongue quivered with excitement, and that living cable, which
made up those fearful coils, began a rapid thickening. The
creature seemed to be inhaling air down its whole length. Now
began that fearful blowing. It was truly a bellowing of snakish
rage, and was followed up by a savage dart at the innocent in-
truder, which gallantly returned the compliment with another nip
of its sharp teeth, sending the snake back in haste to the farther
corner of the box. I noticed that the rat was in nowise stupe-
fied, or affected in any way corresponding to the so-calh'd fasci-
nation of serpents. Keeping its head raised, eyes fixed and
tongue quivering, the snake filled with air again ; then again

came that appalling sound. and another dart, with the same re-
sponse from the rat. I cannot depict the seeming tussle of each
round. It was not so much on either part an effort to close in. as
it was to deliver its own shot, and then get out of the way, so that
on the part of the snake each charge received caused a squirming
that looked like a wild beating of the air. She went at the poor
rodent again and again. Matters were waxing desperate. The
rounds were quicker and more severe. There was less blowing and
harder fighting. I was now desirous to separate them, but knew
not how to bring it about. The truth told, I was getting to be
somewhat nervous about the personal appearance of my beautiful
serpent, which seemed in great peril of bodily damage. At last
both combatants seemed sick of their bargain. So there was a
temporary truce, which intermission of hostilities, as it often is
with wiser bodies, was made the opportunity of a mutual effort to
escape, the rat inspecting every part of the box, and gnawing at
every crevice ; the snake butting her nose in vain attempts to
break through the glass. The truce lasted .ten minutes. The rat
was sitting quietly in a corner cleaning its face with its paws.
The snake had ceased its vain darting at the glass cover, and. as
if for rest, had spread itself over two-thirds of the floor of the
box. It seemed as if a fair understanding had been reached, and
that hostilities were really at an end. It was a treacherous calm.
Incited by some cause the rat made a run for the opposite side of
the box. Alas ! this movement was the one fatal error of this
little hero's life. In attempting this, it had to cross over a por-
tion of its enemy's body. It was the merest touch, but that
touch was death. Instantly every particle of the serpent's body
flashed into activity, as if the whole had been powder, and a spark
of fire had fallen on it. In the merest fraction of a second of
time, the reptile that seemed to be lying so languid was trans-
formed into an inverted nest, under which was the poor rat. I
looked for the head of the snake. It was under this living nest,
holding at the hinder part its victim, which was doubled up in this
strange compression. And stranger still was the wonderful ad-
justment that a half minute of time sufficed to accomplish. The
inverted nest of coils opened at its upper or convex end, like the
crater of a miniature volcano. Out of this was evolved the head
and front feet of the little rodent, whose dark lustrous eyes stood
out and neck grew thick from the fearful compression. As the

8

pretty little flesh-colored h;mds lay upon that fatal upper coil, it
did so look like the intercession of helpless suffering with pitiless
power ! This terrible constrictor, although the act was done in an
instant, had fully exhausted all her ingenuity in throwing up this
fearful engine of strangulation. It was not merely a series of
nest-like constricting coils, but one great coil went transversely
over all the others ; as when the hand squeezes a lemon, and the
other hand is made to help the compression. One could hear the
bones crack ! All this time the head of the serpent is underneath,
holding its little captive in place, while that spiral vise squeezes
out the brave little life that has so stoutly held its own against
such odds in a mortal combat of two long hours. Happily death
is almost instantaneous, for it is a literal crushing out of life.

Eight minutes have elapsed, and that spiral coil is still wound
up, rigid and motionless as a rope of iron. How patient the crea-
ture is! So still, so quiet, one would hardly think it was alive.

ni.-h- .' : ■ , . !' '.- :' ' ' - i ,\

retain , m i« t air. as thouU the reptile was conscious that the
thing was done. A change comes at last. The head is still aloft.

rax swell with inspiration ; then comes that indescribable blowing.
It is evidently taking a good long breath after a tough job. There
may be in it a relief to its nervous excitement. Is the re in it any

10

THE PINE SNAKE OF NEW JERSEY.

determined only by dissections of the posterior parts. Thi
ty may be compensa

i of defence for an animal r

arally timid. And may it not be also for sexual attraction? In
this particular it is probable the pine snake is not singular, and it
is likely that where this function is feeble in the other snakes, it
is strong enough for the latter purpose. A man very much beyond
the average intelligence and education, a teacher in the Pines,
said to me " I once saw a black snake come out of the woods into
the soft sandy road ; and it acted precisely as a dog does that is
nosing out a scent. The snake came to a snake's track in the
sand. It at once put itself in the track, and began to follow it ;
when, seeing me, it turned off to the woods and got away."

As is well known, the capacity of abstinence from food is
remarkable among the serpents. Late in September, 1874, I
killed a mouse, and gave to the female Pituophis. She seized it, -
gave it the usual squeeze, then swallowed it, taking just th e min-
utes for the latter task. The next day I gave her another dead
mouse, with exactly the same results. This was the first time
that she had broken fast since September, 1873, — just one year
before !

She had in the previous year on one occasion eaten a good-sized
rat, that was given her dead, taking eighteen minutes for the oper-
ation. And I must mention here that I have known the Flat-head
Adder or Blowing Viper, Heterodon phi / '/rhinos, to eat the heads
of the common eel, left on the shore by the fisherman. So that
the assertion that snakes will not take food that they have not
killed themselves, is not in all cases correct.

Late in August, 1873, I noticed that the snake seemed sickly.
The dim, horny look of the eyes told the reason. She was nearly,
if not quite, blind ; and was about to cast off her old skin, lo
me, this was a time of anxiety, I was so anxious to witness an
operation which I had never seen. On the 30th, owing to a rest-
less mVht from illness, I rose later than usual. Went diivcth io
the snake box-what a disappointment ! The snake ha-'

skin, and was now all aglow in her

I was struck

with the wonderful clearness of the eyes, and was renin
the shoreman's slang, as previously given. I now saw a i
nificance in their vulgar speech ; and it occurred to me thi
a poor ophthalmic sufferer would rejoice if he could thus €

11

But the desire came at last. Near the close of September,
1873, at 1 p. m., looking into the box, I saw that the snake had
started the skin from her head. It was a little torn at the snout,
and I found that the head and neck were denuded for about two
inches. The denuding process was going on, but very slowly.
Doubtless the chief difficulty was in starting the skin, and I felt
sorry that I did not see the start. The neck was slowly becoming
divested of the old cuticle, which, at first glance, had a sort of
rolling aspect. What surprised me was the fact that there was
not the least friction in the act ; that is, there was no rubbing
against any exterior object. As the old skin at this time is very
moist and soft, any swelling of the body stretches and loosens it.
So soon as the exuviation has reached the part of the body con-
taining the larger ribs, this doffing of the old suit proceeds more
rapidly, and with a singular system. It is done just in this way.
Exactly at the place where the skin seems to be moving backward,
a pair of ribs expands. This action enlarges the body and loos-
ens the skin at that place. In this movement both ribs in the pair
act at the same time, just as the two blades of the scissors open
together. Now comes in a second movement of this pair of ribs.
One of them — say the one on the right side — is pushed forward,
and made to slip out of the constriction, when it is immediately
drawn backward, that is, against the neck of the old skin. Now
the left rib makes a like advance, and in a like manner presses
backward. Thus the final action of the ribs is not synchronous,
but alternate. And how notable becomes the sameness of result
in this action with that of the alternate hitching of each side of
the mouth when swallowing. Indeed, swallowing by a serpent is
a misnomer ; for that laborious hitching is not a pushing of the
prey down the gullet, but a drawing of the body over it. The
western man said, he always felt better after getting himself
around a two-pound steak. With the serpent, this is a literal fact :
it puts itself outside of its victim. And so with the singular action
of the ribs — it seems to push the skin backwards ; but this is an
illusion, for it actually pushes itself forward, and advances out of
the skin, thus with each movement or advance, lengthening the
double cylinder behind ; that is, the old hose evolves from itself
forward, though it appears to be rolled on itself backward.

The ribs of a serpent, which extend very nearly throughout its
whole length, are very much smaller in the neck and tail. At

12

THE PINE SNAKE OF NEW JERSEY.

these parts exuviation is much slower than when the larger
have play. This rib action produced a singular automatic l
ment of the serpent on the floor of its box, and even acros
folds of its companion, which kept as still as if it were dead,
movement of the snake's body, as the skin did not follow it,
the creature the appearance of crawling out of a tubular case,
skin of course was presented inside out, so that every scale sb
its concave side, which was true also of the scales of the

length. This, for plain reasons, was not inverted. The
process of exuviation, allowing live minutes for the part tha
not witness, took thirty-five minutes.

There was a great contrast of color and brilliancy betwe
old and the new attire ! Unversed in serpentine psycholo
are not able to say what went on in the caput of this cr
which the adage has made so famous for wisdom. With t
of such a rich creamy glow, and such adornings of brow
chocolate, and chestnut, what blame if it w ere proud of its r
tire? She certainly seemed to show her feelings in a felin
for she rubbed her head, with a seeming cat-like comph
against that of her companion. As for him, poor fellow, 1
been ten weeks trying to get his trousers off, and after this r
time, had only succeeded in tearing the garment. He seem.

tight boots, retired to allow his mind time to regain its com]
The truth told, it took Mr. Pituophis exactly three month*
on" his pantaloons. It would only come off in bits at a tin
by painful friction, which, as shown above, is not the norm
of a snake's undressing. Indeed, it looked as if a valet
have to be provided. But on the 13th of October, a warm

clear liquid. inis wouiu ma
the box, about as large as one
immediately voided a heap <

14 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS IN SOUTHERN UTAH.

ulated by and under the perfect control of one will, that is felt in
every curve and line. There is some likeness to the thousand per-
sonal activities of a regiment seen on their " winding way." And
all this perfection of control of so many and complicated activities
is true, whether a serpent like an ogre be crushing its victim's
bones, or as a limbless posturist be going through its inimitable
evolutions. In our thinking a serpent ranks as a paradox among
animals. There is so much seeming contradiction. At one time
encoiling its prey as in iron bands ; again assuming the immov-
able posturing of a statue ; then melting into movements so intri-
.cate and delicate that the lithe or limbless thing looks like gossa-
mer incarnate. In this creature all the unities seem to be set aside.
Such weakness, and such strength; such gentleness, and suchvin-
dietiveness ; so much of beauty, and yet so repulsive ; fascination
and terror:— what need of wonder that whether snake or python,
the serpent should so figure in the myths of all the ages, and the
literature of the whole world ! Yes, in the best, and the worst
thinkings of men !

BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS IN SOUTHERN
UTAH, IN 1874. I.

The hastily gathered collection of plants made by Fremont on
his adventurous return trip from California, in the spring of 1844,
contained quite a number of remarkable new forms, from the little
known district adjoining the valley of the Virgen, then included
in the Mexican Territory of Upper California. Several of these
newly discovered plants, as far as the imperfect material allowed,
were described by Dr. Torrey and Prof. Gray, in Fremont's Re-
port, "Plantae Fremontianne," and other scientific publications.
Subsequently the inaccessibility of the country, and the hostile
character of the Indian tribes occupying this district, prevented
for a time farther botanical researches. With the growth of Mor-
mon settlement gradually extending southward from Salt Lake,
the obstacles to exploration were in great measure removed and
the valley of the Virgen lay along the line of one of the travelled
routes to southern California. During this period, late in the year

1855, a French naturalist, named J. Remy, passed over this route
from Salt Lake to Los Angeles, and made a scanty collection of
plants on the journey, which were afterwards deposited in the
Paris Museum. His published narrative, entitled "Pays des
Mormons," contained only very general allusions to the botany of
the region traversed, and no scientific account was given of his
collections, the material being apparently imperfect and fragment-
ary. Since then, up to the year 1870, we have no account of any
botanical collector visiting this district. At the latter date (1870),
at the suggestion of the writer, Dr. E. Palmer, then in the joint-
service of the Department of Agriculture, in Washington, and the
Smithsonian Institution, was induced to visit this section on a
collecting tour, extending to the mouth of the Colorado and the
Pacific coast. Leaving Salt Lake in the latter part of May, he
spent about three weeks in the vicinity of St. George, collecting
in that vicinity a number of new species of plants which were
mainly described in Mr. Watson's Botanical Report of the geolog-
ical exploration, 40° parallel, vol. v.

In the following years (1871-2), the expeditions of Lt. Wheeler
and Major Powell, both touched on this district, and small collec-
tions of plants, made by Mrs. E. P. Thompson, Capt. Bishop and
others connected with these surveys, added several new species to
the flora of this district, being described by Mr. Watson in the
American Naturalist (Vol. vii, pp. 299-303).

In addition to these published sources, several local collectors
have at dilferent times aided materially in extending our knowl-
edge of the plants of this region, among whom may be mentioned
as especially worthy of notice, Mr. A. L. Siler, and J. E. Johnson,
Esq., both residents of southern Utah.

Being- desirous of obtaining a more complete view of the botan-
ical features of this district, and especially of securing the evan-
escent spring plants, which on account of the late season of
gathering or hasty mode of travel, other collector-, had mainly

tedious and disagreeable.

Not before passing over the rim of the great basin, within a
short day's travel of my destination, was there any appearance of
advancing vegetation ; but on dropping down suddenly into the
valley of the Virgen, on April 5th, the whole lloral aspect assumed
a change almost magical ; orchards in full bloom including peach,
almond, and apricot, marked at a distance by a perfect blaze of
blossoms the scattered settlements, while the lucerne fields with
their deep green foliage were nearly ready for a first forage crop.

Over the intervening desert table-land the aspects of advanced
spring were evidenced in rainbow-colored patches of Phacelia Fre-
montii Torr. and bright yellow clusters of Ev.rianus Bigelovii Gray
(No. 147). The approach to St. George, which I had previously
selected as the central point of my explorations, was at this
season, and under the circumstances of the case in contrast with
the bleak country just passed over, peculiarly attractive. The va-
riety of rock exposure in the form of steep mural cliffs of red
sandstone, and high basaltic mesas, with their slopes of broken
talus, gave promise of a rich harvest, which the result of my
labors fully realized.

From the 5th of April up to June 1st, there was a continuous

lar botanical features. Early in the season, the chief atlraetion
centred on the evanescent annuals, which were scattered in great

leant shelter of the'dull colored desert shrubbery. Largely rep-

montii Torr. (No 177), whose' showy -pike, continue to unfold a
succession of blossoms for four weeks or more. Hardly less
showy is the Phacelia crassifolia Torr. (No. 182), -with flowers of
an intense blue shade, thickly scattered over gypseous clay knolls.
This latter species frequently becomes dwarfed in exposed places,
and si iciIs out in the form of numle patches over the bate soil.

BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS IN SOUTHERN UTAH. 17

forms of G. leptomeria Gray (No. 197), G. demissa Gray (No.
196), G. Bigelovii Gray (No. 189), G.flocosa Gray (No. 192), G.
polycladon Torr. (No. 191), G. setosissima Gray (No. 190), and
a very delicate species with light yellow flowers, looking like flax,
G.JUiformis n. sp. (No. 187).

Among other interesting dwarf forms characterizing the early
spring flora, may be noted Thysanocarpus curd pea I look., Mai ros-
trum exile Gray, Lupinus Sileri Watson, Actinolepis Wallacei Gray,
Actinolepis lanosa Gray, SyntricJwpappus Fremont ii Gray, Layia
glandulosa H. & A., Stylodyne micropoides Gray, Nemacladus
rouKjdssimus Nutt., Nama demissa Gray, Pterostegia drymari-
oides F. & M.

Somewhat later in the season, as we shall have occasion to note
farther on, a different class of annuals, largely represented by
Eriogonea? and Boragineae, come forward to continue the series of

Of perennial plants the early spring gave abundant promise, in
the opening leaf and developing bud, of many strange forms.
Among these the first to attract attention is a very common bushy
shrub, with small inconspicuous flowers, crowded along the slen-
der branches, almost hidden from view in the densely fasciculate
leaves. This, which is readily recognized in its habit and pecu-
liar peach-leaf odor, as belonging to the Amygdalece group of Ro-
sacea, was characterized by Dr. Torrey in "Plantaj Fremontianai"
(fig. 10), from imperfect material under the name of Empledoda-
dus fasciculatus Torr. The more complete material now collected

closely allied to the Primus minutiflora Engel. : it has accordingly
been reduced by Prof. Gray to a section of Primus, viz. : P. (Em-
phciochidus) fasciculata Gray (No. 56). By the inhabitants of
the country it is known under the appropriate name of " wild
almond," its small fruit, though bitter, being occasionally eaten.

3-angled. From the mature seed somewhat copiously collected, it
is to be hoped that this singular species may be introduced into
our gardens.

Of early bulbous plants Androstephium brevijlorum Watson
(No. 223) is quite common on all gravelly hills, succeeded some-
what later in the season by Milla capitata (No. 256), which latter
exhibits an equally well-marked corona subtending the stamens,
thus apparently invalidating the distinctions which have been
relied on for separating the allied genera of Millece.

Early in May, Culochortus jlexyosus Watson (No. 254) is con-
spicuous on hill-sides, with its showy tulip-like blossoms, which,
on account of its prolonged branching flower stem, continues to
flower for a longer period than most species of this attractive
genus. The general Indian name of " Sego" is applied indiscrim-
inately to all the edible bulbs of this region. Apparently quite
out of place in this arid climate, we notice quite frequently on
the perpendicular face of moist sandstone rocks, Adi'intnw , C«p'd-

fern growing in dry rock crevices, resembling Cheilanth* which
Prof. Eaton on a critical examination determines to be a new
species of Noih<>hnni characterized by him as N. Parry i n. sp.
(See appendix No. 263).

With the disappearance of late spring frosts, which frequently
continue to the latter part of April . and occasionally as late as
early May. the intense heat of the lengthening days, rarely ob-
scured by clouds, or tempered by showers, brings forward a rapid
development of the more characteristic forms of vegetation. By
May 1st orchards had mostly dropped their blossoms ; the fruit of

ning t-o ripen, giving to fields and gardens a summer aspect. In

downward of the valvular calyx, the accumulated tension at a
certain point suddenly releasing the segments from below up-

voluto corolla to unfold visibly, its petals expanding in about
thirty seconds, to a horizontal position. Quite constantly, just

loads itself with the stringy, adhesive pollen, to be carried, prob-

the^same quest lands on the same flower, and finding the pollen
gone, travels quickly over the stigmatic arms and soon flies away.
This process frequently repeated ensures cross-fertilization.

Other (Enotherce include a large white-flowered variety of the
polymorphous (E. alMcaulis (No. 63) ; as a rarity we also meet
with the very neat <E. primiveris Gray (No. 65).

Of the group belonging to the Chylisma section, we have three
well-marked forms represented. Of these, Nos. 73-74 are referred
by Mr. Watson to (Enothera hrecipex ( hay ; both have yellow flow-
ers, of which those of No. 73 are most conspicuous. No. 74 is dis-
tinguished by a more branching habit, smaller light-yellow flowers,

A third species of this section is characterized by Mr. WaUon
as (Enothera Parryi n. sp. (See appendix No. 72). This lat-

its prolonged spike of small yellow flowers being succeeded by
distinctly elavate capsules, curving upwards from a slender divar-
icate pedicel. Quite constantly associated with this latter spe-
cies, occupying dry gypseous clay knolls, is a very neat and showy
MentzeUa (No. 78). This, though closely allied to the common
JL ni'iUijhjra Nutt., seems to present characters sufficient to dis-
tinguish it as a new species. Observing the two growing often
side by side, the differences in habit, time of flowering and floral
characters seem sufficiently distinct, nor were there any interme-

number of doubtful species.

the charming Dalea Johnloni Watson (No. 40), with its deep
indigo blue spikes. Now also comes forward Coleogyne m //in-
fusion of light-yellow blossoms. Aster tortifolius Gray (No. 91),

with its large pale-blue heads, adds an unwonted brilliancy to the
clefts of dark basaltic rocks. Audibertia incana Benth. (No.
159) is conspicuous along the line of dry ravines, with its dense

r, ■ ,

Other varieties include Lepidium Fremontii Watson, Hymenoded
salsola T. & G., Franseria dumosa Gray, Salazaria Mexicana
Torr., Lycium Torreyi Gray.

Not least among the attractions of this flowering season are
the Cacti, which include Opuntia rutilla Nutt., presenting a
perfect mass of delicate pink rosettes, set in a bed of spines.
Cereus Engelmanni Parry exhibits flowers of a deeper purple
shade, which are succeeded by a delicious fruit, when it can be
safely extracted from its thorny envelope. MarnmiUaria pheh
osperma Engel., or " the fish-hook cactus," is found as a rarity in
rocky clefts, at this season adorned with its bright red fruit. On
all gravelly knolls in this section a common arborescent Opuntia
is met with (0. Echinocarpa Engel.). This species has an incon-
spicuous yellowish green flower nearly buried in a mass of barbed
spines ; otherwise its usually repulsive features are partly utilized.
by birds, who find in their spiny recesses, nesting places secure
from the attack of snakes.

Chenopodiacem are everywhere largely represented by the fol-
lowing, viz., Atriplex expansa Watson, A. confertifolia Watson,
A. NuttdUii Watson, A. canescens Watson, Kochia Americana
Watson, Suoeda diffusa Watson, Eurotia lanata Moquin, and
Grayia polygalvides H. & A., the latter with much more graceful
foliage than noticed farther north, .almost reconciles one to the im-
position of this honored botanical name to a "grease wood."

The undergrowth comprises quite a number of singular Cichora*
ceous Compositece, including Malacothrix Coulteri Gray, M. Torreyi
Gray, Rafinesquia Neo-Mexicana Gray, Calycoseris Wrbjlitil Gray.
Microseris macrochc'fa Gray, M. linenrijhltn Gray, ^t^haiwmeri"
Thurberi Gray, 8. exigua Nutt., Lygodesmia exigua Gray. To
these must be added as especially worthy of notice, the charming
Glyptopleura setulosa Gray (No. 129), with its pure white blossoms,
and cut fringed leaves, pressed close to the ground. This growing
abundantly everywhere on gravelly soil, or dry bottom land, pre-
sents a succession of flowers oiK'iiing in bright sunshine. Not un-
frequently on gravelly slopes we meet with the rare Composite
Monoptilon bellidiformis Gray (No. 100), heretofore only known

21

from a single Fremontian specimen. The large class of annual
and perennial En'ogonece come forward in the latter part of May.
allusion to which must be deferred to a succeeding paper, together

tains and alpine districts, south and west of St. George.

THE COLOSSAL CEPHALOPODS OF THE NORTH
ATLANTIC.

In a former article published in the Naturalist (vol. viii, p.
167, March, 1874) the writer gave a brief account of several
gigantic cuttle-fishes, or "squids," which have been observed or
captured at or near Newfoundland, 1 and in an earlier volume (vii,
p. 91) Dr. Packard gave an account of previous captures of
similar huge Cephalopods on the coasts of North America and
Europe. The existence of several distinct species of these colos-
sal ten-armed Cephalopods has been satisfactorily demonstrated
in the various papers that have been written upon the subject
both in Europe and America. Most of the specimens hitherto
obtained have been taken in the Atlantic Ocean, but at least one
gigantic species (Enoploteuthis unguiculata) inhabits the Indian
Ocean, while the origin of some of the described specimens is not

In this article I propose to describe portions of five different
specimens of these monsters, now in my possession, and also to
give some account of five other specimens that have been observed
on our side of the Atlantic.

The five specimens that I have been able to study evidently
belong to two quite distinct species, both of which belong to the
genus Architeuthis of Steenstrup (or Megaloteutkis of Kent).
The largest of these is represented only by the jaws of two

22

COLOSSAL CEPHALOPODS.

specimens, one of which (No. 1 in my former articles) was found
floating at the Banks of Newfoundland, and the other (which we
will designate as No. 10) was taken from the stomach of a sperm
whale. The upper jaw of the latter was imperfectly figured by
Dr. Packard in his article referred to above, and it is the largest
jaw yet known. These belong to an apparently undescribcd spe-
cies, which I propose to name Architeuthis princeps? and shall
describe more fully farther on. It is readily distinguished from
the following by the blacker, thicker, stronger and more incurved
beaks, and especially by the large and very prominent tooth or
projection, arising from the margin of the cutting edges of the
ala?, on the lower jaw. The body appears to have been relatively
much longer than in the following species.

The second species, which I consider identical with the Archi-
teuthis monachus of Steenstrup, is more fully represented by parts
of three individuals, and seems to be the species most commonly
met with on the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The most complete specimen (fig. 1) that has ever come under
scientific observation was captured in November, 1873, at Louie
Bay, near St. John's, Newfoundland. It became entangled in
herring-nets and was secured by the fishermen with some diilkulty

mutilated and severed from the body, and the eyes, most of the
siphon-tube, and the front edge of the mantle were destroyed.
Fortunately this specimen was secured by the Rev. M. Harvey of
St. John's. After it had been photographed and measured, he
attempted to preserve it entire in brine, but this was found to be
ineffectual, and after decomposition had begun to destroy some of
the most perishable parts, he took it from the brine and, dividing
it into several portions, preserved such parts as were still unde-
composed in strong alcohol. These various portions are now in
my possession, and with the photographs have enabled me to pre-

creature (fig. 1). In this figure the eyes, ears, siphon-tube, and
front edge of the mantle have been restored from a small squid
(Loligo pallida) to which this gigantic species seems to be nearly

24

allied in many respects. The other parts have been drawn
directly from the photographs and specimens. 3

Mr. Harvey has published popular accounts of this specimen
and the previously captured arm of a still larger one, in an inter-
esting article in the Maritime Monthly Magazine of St. John, N.
B., for March, 1874, and in several newspapers. 4 These articles,
and extracts from them, have been widely copied in the news-
papers and magazines. To him we are, therefore, mainly indebted
for these latest and most important additions to our knowledge
of these remarkable animals. The preserved parts of this speci-
men (No. 5) which I have been able to examine are as follows:
the anterior part of the head, with the bases of the arms, the
beak, lingual ribbon, etc. ; the eight shorter arms, but without
the suckers, which dropped off in the brine, and are now repre-
sented only by the strong marginal rings ; the two long tentacular
arms, which are well preserved, with all the suckers in place ; the
tail; portions of the "pen" or internal shell; the ink-bag and
pieces of the body.

Since this is the most complete specimen hitherto obtained, it
will be first described as a standard for comparison with the other
less complete ones.

The general appearance and form of this species, 5 which appears

25

to be the Architeuthia monachus of Steenstrup, is well shown by
fig. 1. From the great size of the large suckers on the long arms,
I judge it to be a male. The body was relatively stout, and ac-
cording to the statement of Mr. Harvey, it was, when fresh, about
seven feet long and five and one-half feet in circumference. The
portion of the body shown in the photograph appears to have been
only about five and one-half feet long, rig 2

In restoring the figure here presented,
the length of the body was reckoned
at seven feet, and reduced twenty-two
times. The "tail" or caudal fin (fig.
2) is said by Mr. Harvey to have been
twenty-two inches across, but the pre-
served specimen is considerably small-
er, owing, undoubtedly, to shrinkage in
the brine and alcohol. It is remark-
able for its peculiar spear-shaped or
broad sagitate form. The posterior
termination is unusually acute and the
lateral lobes extend forward consider-
ably beyond their insertion. In the
preserved specimen the total length,
from the anterior end of the lateral lobes to the tip of the tail, is
twenty-three inches ; from the lateral insertions to the tip nineteen
inches ; from the dorsal insertion thirteen and five-tenths inches ;
total breadth about fifteen inches; width of lateral lobes six
inches. The body, as seen in the photograph, is badly collapsed
and it must be a matter of great difficulty to obtain the true
diameter o/ the body in any of these large squids, owing to the

2G

fact that they collapse greatly when taken from the water. The
circumference of the body given above may, therefore, be con-
siderably too small. In that case the figure represents the body
more slender than it should be. The head was probably at least
equal to one-fifth the length of the body. The eight hoiter
arms, when fresh, were, according to Mr. Harvey's measure-
ments, six feet long and all of equal length, but those of the
different pairs were respectively ten, nine, eight and seven inches
in circumference. In alcohol they have shrunk considerably, both
in length and diameter. They are three-cornered or triquetral in
form and taper very gradually to slender acute tips. Their inner
faces are occupied by two alternating vows of large obliquely
campanulate suckers, with contracted apertures surrounded by
broad, oblique, marginal rings, armed with strong, acute teeth
around their entire circumference, but
largest and most oblique on the outside
(fig. 3). These suckers gradually di-
minish in size to the tips of the arms,

largest of these suckers are said by Mr.
King of sucker from' 6 i,ort Harvey to have been about an inch in
arms of No. 5. diameter, when fresh. The largest of

their marginal rings in my possession are -Go of an inch in
diameter, at the serrated edge, and -75 beneath. The rings of
the smaller suckers are more oblique and more contracted at
the aperture, with the teeth more inclined inward, those on the
outside margin being largest. The two long tentacular arms are
remarkable for their slenderness and great length when com-
pared with the length of the body. Mr. Harvey states that they
were each 24 feet long and 2-75 inches in circumference when
fresh. In the brine and alcohol they have shrunk greatly, and

the slender portion varies from 2-25 to 3-25 inches. These arms
were evidently highly contractile, like those of many small spe-
cies, and consequently the length and diameter would vary greatly
according to the state of contraction or relaxation. The length
given (24 feet) probably represents the extreme length in an ex-
tended or flaccid condition, such as usually occurs in these animals
soon after death. The slender portion is three-cornered or trique-

27

trill in form, with the outer angle round, the sides slightly con-
convex and generally smooth, except toward the end, where it
begins to enlarge. Although so slender, these arms are very
strong and elastic. The terminal portion, hearing the suckers, is
30 inches in length and expands gradually to the middle, where it
is 4-5 to 5 inches in circumference (6 inches when fresh), and 1-5
to 1-6 across the inner face. The sucker-bearing portion may be

in which the arm is triquetral, with margined lateral angles, and
gradually increases up to the maximum size, the inner face being
convex and bearing about forty irregularly scattered, small, flat-
tened, saucer-shaped suckers, attached by very short pedicels, and
so placed in depressions as to rise but little above the general sur-
face. These suckers have narrow marginal rings, with the thin
edges nearly smooth, or minutely denticulate, and -10 to -V2 of an

membrane. These suckers are at first distantly scattered, but be-

five or six very irregular rows, covering the whole width of the
inner face, which becomes her* 1-6 inches broad. Scattered among
Ihese suckers are about as many low, broad, conical, smooth, cal-

the apertures of the adjacent suckers. These, without doubt, are
intended to furnish secure points of adhesion for the correspond-
ing Mirkers of the opposite arm, so that, as in some other genera,
these two arms can be fastened together at this wrist-like portion,
and thus they can be used unitedly. By this means they must be-
come far more efficient organs for capturing their prey than if used
separately. Between these smooth suckers and the rows of large
ones there is a cluster of about a dozen small suckers, with ser-

The second division of the sucker-bearing part of the arm suc-
ceeds the small suckers. Here the arm is well rounded on the

eac jj Jj,],., alternating with the large ones. The inner edge is bor-

COLOSSAL CEPHALOPODS.

dered by a rather broad, regularly scalloped, marginal membrane,
the scallops corresponding to the large suckers. On the other
edge there is a narrower and thinner membrane, which runs all
the way to the tip of the arm, just outside the suckers. In one of
the rows of large suckers there are eleven, and in the other ten,
above half an inch in diameter, but each row has at either end one
or two smaller ones, from a half an inch to a quarter of an inch in
rig. 4. diameter, so that either twelve or

thirteen might be counted as be-
longing to the rows of large suck-
ers. The largest of these (fig- 4,
a) are from 1 to 1*15 inches in di-
the margin. These are
attached by strong, though slender,
pedicels, so that their margins are
elevated about an inch above the
Suckers from long arms of No. 5. surface of the arm. Each one is
Natural size. situated in the centre of a pentag-

onal depressed area, about an inch across, bounded by ridges,
which alternate regularly, and interlock on the two sides, so as to
form a zigzag line along the middle of the arm. These large
suckers are campanulate, and somewhat oblique; the marginal
ring is strong, and sharply serrate all around. The small marginal
suckers (fig. 4, 6) are similar in structure, but more oblique, and
mostly only -3 to -4 of an inch in diameter ; they are attached by
much longer and more slender pedicels, and their marginal teeth
are relatively larger and more incurved, especially on the outer
margin. By reason of their longer pedicels they rise to the same
height as the large ones. The third, or terminal division of the
arm, gradually becomes much compressed laterally, and tapers
regularly to the tip, which is flat, blunt, and slightly incurved.
Just beyond the large suckers, where this region begins, the cir-
cumference is 3-5 inches. The face is narrow and bears a large
number of small serrate and pedicellate suckers, arranged in four
regular alternating rows, and gradually diniiuMung in size to the
tip of the arm, where the rows expand into a small cluster. These
suckers are much like the marginal ones of the previous division*
and at first are about -25 of an inch in diameter, but decrease to
about -10 of an inch near the tip of the arm. The lateral mem-
brane or fold of skin, of the preceding divisions, recedes farther

3 1

The most remarkable anatomical character observed in this spec-
imen is found in the form and arrangement of the teeth on the
"lingual ribbon," or odontophore, for in this respect it differs
widely from all other known Cephalopods.

The ordinary squids and cuttle-fishes all have these teeth

middle rows being generally two or three-pronged, as in Loligo
Fig. 9.

pallida (fig. 9), while the lateral rows have long, simple, fang-like
teeth. But in this species (fig. 10), the teeth are very irregularly
scattered over the surface of the broad thin membrane, and it is
difficult to trace the rows, if such they can be called, for the
arrangement seems to be somewhat in irregular quincunx. The

LIFE HISTORIES OF THE PROTOZOA.

41

finds its nearest ally in Anthophysa, (littering from that genus
principally in being tree swimming instead of fixed upon a stalk."
The -enera Chhimvdonmnas and Colpodella are represented at
Fi- I'd. I',. A hiu'hri- form than Monas is Codosiga (Fig. 17) in

human parasites, i.e., Celcomn,,,,* urinaria C. intestinalis and
Trichomonas vaginalis.

The second family of monads are the Astasiasa. Here belong
Astasia and Euglena (Fig. 18). The former genus is somewhat

to Clark, during its a,mrl>oid retroversions becoming "contorted
into a shapeless, writhing mass." They have a conspicuous, red
so-called " eye-spot." A similar organ occurs in the zoospores of

1. Monadina. Body small, rounded, naked or with a tough
membrane ; resembling the zoospores of algee, etc.

2. Astasicea. Body naked and changeable like the monads,
only bearing flagella.

THE WHEELER GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF NEW
MEXICO FOR 1874.

primarily topographical and two devoted to geological and biolog-
ical investigation.

Of the former one only, that under charge of Lieut. Blunt, oper-
ated east of the Rocky Mountains, while the remaining five sur-
veyed from the Colorado line, or near it, southward as far as the
Rio El Rito and Canon Apache, in the following order : at the
north Lieut. Marshall ; then Wheeler, Whipple, Birnie, and last,
Lieut. Price. The last named officer having been incapacitated
by sickness was succeeded in charge by Mr. Klett. The two
remaining parties were assigned extensive territorial areas, as the
nature of their work required widely extended reconnoissances, as
well as studies in special localities, the position of which could
not be foreseen. Dr. Rothrock was in charge of a party which
explored the botany and zoology of southern Arizona and New
Mexico, and Dr. Yarrow and Prof. Cope investigated the geology
and paleontology of the northern portion of the latter territory.

We propose to speak of the work of the last named party at
present, as several of the others have not yet come in from the
field. Dr. Yarrow having left for Washington about the middle

devolved on the writer. The results obtained have been highly
interesting and important to geological science. An analysis of
the structure of the region traversed between Pueblo and Santa
Fe was accompanied by successful collecting of fossil remains in
many of the strata. % Thns the Cretaceous beds near the Huer-
fano yielded many fine fossil shells and teeth of extinct fishes,
and the carboniferous limestone of the Sangre del Christo pass was
found to be equally rich. A unique collection of a large number
of most beautifully preserved invertebrate remains was procured

try for sixty miles and more, parallel to the mountain axis. Most

the summits of these rock crests, and almost all the more inaccessi-
ble and remote points of the hills. They were often found standing
on the summits of ledges of from five to twelve feet in width, with
precipices of several hundred feet in depth on one or both sides ;
or occupying ledges on the sides of precipices forming the walls
of canons, in positions only accessible by perilous climbing.
These localities are often remote from water, in some cases more
than twenty miles.

The party collected and brought within reach of transportation
about a ton of fossil remains. They crossed directly from the
Rio Puerco to Conejos over the San Juan Mountains by a pass
some twenty miles in length, where they were overtaken by a
severe snowstorm. They returned to Pueblo on the 11th of No-
vember.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

Embryology of the Ctenophokje. 1 — The development of
certain jelly fishes (Ctenophorse) belonging to the genera Idyia
and Pleurobrachia has been elaborated in this memoir with great
care and beauty of illustration by Mr. A. Agassiz. He gives a
connected account of their history from the earliest stages in the
egg until all the features of the adult appear. While the mode of
segmentation of the yolk is extraordinary, the embryo attains the
adult form without any metamorphosis, the changes being very
gradual. Mr. Agassiz's observations, with the preceding ones of
Midler, Gegenbaur, Kowalevsky and Fol, give us a tolerably com-
plete view of the mode of development of this order of jelly
fishes. These Ctenophorse on our coast spawn late in the summer
and fall. The young brood developed in the autumn comes to the
surface the following spring nearly full-grown, to lay their eggs
late in the summer. The autumn brood most probably passes the

for the young to attain their maturity. The memoir closes with

a vigorous and trenchant criticism of Haeckel's Gastrula the-
ory, exposing its weak points. Mr. Agassiz regards the assump-
tions of Haeckel forming the basis of his Gastrula theory as
"wholly unsupported." It must "take its place by the side of
other physio-philosophical systems," and he denies that we have
been " able to trace a mechanical cause for the genetic connection
of the various branches of the animal kingdom."

Entomology in Illinois. 1 — We have noticed previously the im-
portant entomological reports made by Mr. Riley to the state of
Missouri ; we now have before us a Report of about two hundred
pages by the state entomologist of Illinois. It is fully illustrated
by admirable drawings mostly from the pencil of Mr. Riley, and
is well printed. Instead of treating directly of injurious insects, it
is a treatise on the beetles of the United States, and as such will
serve to prepare the way for future reports on economic ento-
mology. The work is excellent as an introduction to a study of
the beetles, which comprises some of the most injurious species,
and we bespeak for it a large circulation outside of the state. We

but the aim of the work and successful treatment of the subject
new beetles are described and figured.

Polarization of Light. 2 — This is another of the elegant and

" Nature." They contain the substance of lectures delivered at
various times to workpeople, and " constitute a talk rather than a
treatise on polarized light," says the author.

BOTANY.

Gray discusses this question, and concludes that " sexually propa-
gated varieties, or races, although liable to disappear through
change, need not be expected to wear out, and there is no proof
that they do ; also, that non-scxually pn^a^itrd varieties, though

56

of species of Pythonomorpha, amuiig which are a Liodon, with a
conic muzzle, and a new genus allied to Clidastes. Other species
are referred to the true Plesiosaurus. — E. D. C.

A New Mastodon.— The Mastodon of the Santa F6 marls turns
out to be distinct from the M. Chapmanii of the East, and the M.
Shepardii of California, and is allied to the M. longirostris of Eu-
rope. It has been named N. productus Cope. The presence of
the genera of Mammalia characteristic of the Pliocene formations

A report on the paleontology of the formation is just issued by the
Chief of Engineers, Washington.— E. D. C.

ANTHROPOLOGY.

Cremation among North American Indians. 1 — The object of
the present note is merely to record the fact, that among the many
different methods of paying the last tribute of respect to deceased
members of the tribe, which are now practised by the native races
of North America, cremation is not entirely omitted.

In December, 1850, while enjoying the hospitality of the detach-
ment of the 2nd U. 8. Infantry, which at that time established
Fort Yuma, the military post at the junction of the Colorado and
Gila Rivers in California, I availed myself of the kind offer of
Mr. Jordan, one of the owners of the ferry near the post, to make

Starting in a small flat boat, which he generously sacrificed for
the purpose, with a Yuma Indian, who had a feeble knowledge of
Spanish, as guide and interpreter, we floated down with the cur-
rent of the river, making, by the aid of a solar compass, a rough
survey. On the afternoon of the third day we arrived at the
lowest village of the Cocopa Indians, who are the next tribe south
of the Yumas. Below that village we were told that the spring

went farther, the softness of the mud might seriously hinder our

The next day I learned from the guide that an old man had

57

Never having heard before that this custom existed in North
America, we eagerly availed ourselves of the opportunity of seeing
the interesting ceremony. Crossing the stream in our flat boat, '
we arrived, after a walk of a couple of miles over the river bottom
and adjoining desert, at the late residence of the deceased.

A short distance from the collection of thatched huts which
composed the village, a shallow trench had been dug in the desert,
in which were laid logs of the mesquite (Prosopis, and Strombo-
carpus), hard and dense wood, which makes, as all western cam-
paigners know, a very hot fire, with little flame, or smoke. After
a short time the body was brought from the village, surrounded by
the family and otl i

with black paint, and the females as is the custom with other sav-
ages made very loud exclamations of grief, mingled with what
might be supposed to be funeral songs. Some smaller faggots
were then placed on top, a few of the personal effects of the dead

colored smoke arose, and the burning of the body, which was much
emaciated, proceeded rapidly. I began to be rather tired of the
spectacle, and was about to go away, when one of the Indians, in
a few words of Spanish, told me to remain, that there was yet

An old man then advanced from the assemblage, with a long
pointed stick in his hand. Going near to the burning body he
removed tile eyes holding them successively on the point of the

that luminary, repeating at the same time some words, which I
understood from our guide was a prayer for the happiness of the
soul of the deceased. After this more faggots were heaped on
the fire which was kept up for perhaps three or four hours longer.

learned on inquiry, that after the fire was burnt out, it was the
custom to collect the fragments of bone which remained, and put
them in a terra cotta vase, which was kept under the care of the
family.

The ceremony of taking out the eyes, and offering them to the
Sun, seems to indicate a feeble remnant of the widely diffused
Sun worship of former times, but when introduced, or whence de-
rived, I could not learn. The subject appears to me an important

61

Journal," and for the full details of which we are indebted to the
courtesy of Prof. Keith. Nor is the interest of this elaborate
mathematical analysis appreciably lessened by Mr. Wenham's
doubt, as to the reliability of the data furnished by Mr. Tolles
as a basis for the computation ; since if the data do not accu-

seenf to ' represent a practicable combination of lenses, which
might be made into an objective, and that is what we want to
know, and what the long discussion has derived its cat-like life
from. The objection in question consists of seven lenses ; a quad-
ruple back consisting of a double-convex of crown glass, a plano-
concave of flint, a plano-convex of crown and a meniscus of flint,
a double middle formed by the union of a double-convex of crown
and a double-concave of flint, and a simple hemispherical front of
crown. The plan of grinding the lenses as thin as possible is dis-
carded, as in much recent work, and some of the lenses are quite
thick at the thinnest point. The following figures represent the
data of construction, the letters a to g representing the seven lenses
in regular order, beginning with the upper lens of the back com-
bination (See also Fig. 24).

Distance of back combination from middle -008. By screw
collar adjustment the front is set at a distance of '00528 from the
next surface. The light is assumed to start from a point ten
inches above the first (back) surface, and is traced through the
objective to a focal point below. The table on p. 62 represents
the distance from the axis at which the extreme ray crosses each
surface, and the angles which the ray, before crossing, makes with

1 This gives a computed angular aperture of 110° 35' 10", which
largely exceeds the 87° obtained by measurement by Dr. Wood-

NOTES.

-The Natural History Association of North-western College,"*
at Naperville, Illinois, has recently completed its organization.
The following are the officers : — J. L. Rockey, President; A.
Goldspohn, Vice President ; J. W. Troeger, Secretary ; C. F.
Rassweiler, A. M., Treasurer ; Professor H. H. Rassweiler, Cu-
rator ; Miss N. Cunningham, Directress of the Botanical Depart-
ment ; C. H. Dreisbach, Director of the Mineralogical and J. W.
Troeger, of the Zoological Departments.

Those who remember the ingenious section cutter figured and

know that L. Schrauer, 13 Edgerly Place, Boston, has the patterns,
and can furnish them to order. He has made one for the Botanic
Gardens, Cambridge, and it works admirably. He is endeavoring
to establish a business in this branch of work including microscope
stands and apparatus connected with it, and we can highly com-
mend bis work.— E. S. Morse.

[We cordially recommend Mr. Schrauer as an excellent work-

The skeletons of five Indians were recently exhumed by several
members of the Essex Institute, in Marblehead. A farther ac-
count will appear in our next number. The skeletons were photo-
graphed in situ, and copies of the photographs are for sale by the
Natuiabsts' Agency.

The undersigned is about to publish his long projected mono-
graph of Geometrid moths, and designs giving a figure of each
species. To make the work as complete as possible specimens of

returned! or other specimens sent in exchange. — A. S. Packard, Jr.
EXCHANGES.

THE

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. IX. — FEBRUARY, 1875. -No. 2.

ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL
KINGDOM. 1

of evolution, introduced a new element into taxonomy. If a
species, like an individual, is the product of a process of develop-
ment, its mode of evolution must be taken into account in deter-
mining its likeness or unlikeness to other species ; and thus

taxonomist.' But while the logical value of phylogeny must be
fully admitted, it is to be recollected that in the present state of
science absolutely nothing is positively known respecting the
phylogeny of any of the larger groups of animals. Valuable and
important as phylogenic speculations are as guides to, and sug-
gestions of, investigation, they are pure hypotheses incapable of

confusion into science by mixing up such hypotheses with tax-
onomy, which should be a precise and logical arrangement of

The present essay is an attempt to classify the known facts of
animal structure, including the development of that structure,
without reference to phylogeny, and, therefore, to form a classifi-
cation of the animal kingdom which will hold good, however much
phylogenic speculations may vary.

which the body becomes differentiated into such cells (Metazoa of
Hseckel).

Monera (Haeckel), in whk-h the body contains no nucleus; and 2.
the Endoplastica, in which the body contains one or more nuclei.
Among these the Infusoria, Ciliata and Flagellate (e.g., Noctiluca),
while not forsaking the general type of the single cell, attain a
considerable complexity of organization, presenting a parallel to
what happens among the unicellular Fungi and Algae (e.g., Mucor,
Vaucheria, Caulerpa).

II. The Metazoa are distinguishable^ in the first place, into

companied by the differentiation of the body wall into, at fewest,
two layers, an epiblast and a hypoblast (Oastrcece of Haeckel),

ingestive apertures being developed in the lateral walls of the gas-

Monostomata, that is to say, the gastrula develops but one' inges-
gastrulee are produced by germination is of course not a real ex-

This division includes two groups, the members of each of which

morpha. Under the latter head are included the Turbellaria, the
Nematoidea, the Trematoda, the Hirudinea, the Oligochaeta, and
probably the Rotifera and Gephyrea.

In all the other Monostomata the primitive opening of the gas-
trula, whatever its fate, does not become the mouth, but the latter

these Deuterostomata there is a perivisceral cavity distinct from
the alimentarv canal, but this perivisceral cavitv is produced in
different ways.

1. A perivisceral cavity is formed by diverticula of the ali-
shown that, not only the ambulacral vessels, but the perivisceral

forgotten that
la are truly » cce
nth the t'uudamei

2. A perivisceral cavitv is tunned by the splitting of tl
blast (Schizocoela).

This appears to be the case in all ordinary Mollusca, i
polychetons Annelida, of which the Mollusca are little m.
an oligomerous modification, and in all the Arthropoda.

It remains to be seen whether the Brachiopoda and the
belong to this or the preceding division.

70

primitive gregariniform parasite might become multicellular and
might develop reproductive and other organs, without finding any

THE SONG OF THE CICADA.

71

ear, the peep of a frog, or the chirp of a cricket, is not less un-
pleasing than the monotonous humdrum of the savage, who rep-
resents now the place formerly occupied by the most cultivated
nations of the world.

The cicada (or harvest-fly), improperly called '.'locust," is so
familiar that its description seems hardly necessary. Suffice it
to say, that from the middle of June to early autumn, this joyous
little songster is heard piping away upon the trees.

The insects especially known to us are the trumpeter (Cicada
tibicen) or lyreman, as it is known in Surinam, from its noise
resembling the notes of a lyre, and the red-eyed cicada, or
seventeen-year locust (C. septendecim). There is a third (C.
canicularis) which appears during dog-days only. Its inferior

The lyreman comes to us in a garb of green, and with wings
trimmed with the same color. The red-eyed cicada is clothed

thought only to appear as its name indicates. But though less

you

the

arvest-fly abounds (for all species of it sing in the same way)
;s stridulent noise is in some instances almost deafening, and
lay be heard a mile off. But our cicada, I am happy to say, is
ot so annoying.

The males alone are provided with the musical apparatus. This
act led a very satirical Greek, Zenarchos by name, to exclaim, I

The ancients speak of them in
mch did they please our Greek t
rere kept in cages, as one would p(

The Athenian ladies wore gold

ON THE BREEDING OF CERTAIN BIRDS.

In the treeless portions of Montana, the streams that meander

" cut-banks," which I mentioned in my last article as the breeding
resort of various hawks. This furnishes other exceptional in-

Probably no birds vary more in their modes of nesting accord-
lows fasten their bottle-shaped nests of mud ; but who would have
anticipated the breeding amongst them of barn swallows, in holes
in the ground? In various parts of Montana, where there were

(ravines) and streams, I frequently saw troops of barn-swallows,
and for some time wondered where they bred. At length Mr.
Batty, one of my assistants, found some nests of this species, and
settled the question. The nests were placed in little excavations

and answering all the purpose of the corner of the rafters, which
the bird usually selects. Mr. Batty surmised that in some in-
stances at least, the bird enlarged and adapted, if it did not
actually dig out, the excavation ; but of this I do not feel sure.
It seems more probable that choice was made of the natural inden-
tations of the bank, just as was the case with the hawks already

At one of our camps on a small tributary of Milk River, on the
boundary line of the United States and British America, two
nests of the golden eagle (A'/uihi chn/s<r<t<.s) were found within a
mile of each other, each capping a piece of cut-bank.

Viewed from the prairie side they seemed, and actually were, to
all intents and purposes, placed on the bare level ground ; from
• the reverse aspect the natural instinct of nesting on a crag was
(75)

men that did not show the mixture of Mexicanus, from any part
of the Missouri water-shed beyond the strict limits of the Eastern
Province. But at the Rocky Mountains this mongrel breed runs
up north into the Saskatchewan region at least, if not farther.

auratus flourishes untouched with red. I have specimens of vari-
ous grades of "hybridity" from the mountains where the St.
Mary's, the Kootenay (or Kootanie) the Belly and other tributa-

Audubon's warbler (Dendrceca Auduboni) breeds in the Rocky
Mountains at the locality lately specified. Several very young

not quite made out respecting the
lark, Neocorys^ Spraguei. The bird

west of the Red River and north of the Missouri Coteau. I cer-

site of Fort Union (Audubon's original locality), and thence up
the Missouri to the mouth of Milk River, I noticed altogether a few
hundred perhaps. But the birds were not common, and in all the
country west of this I saw none at all until I came upon the head
of Milk River, just at the ridge that divides these waters from those
of the Saskatchewan. There, among the foothills of the Rockies,
the species reappeared. Much tin- same peculiarity attaches to the

the Mouse River region, and the type came from the Upper Mis-
single one in the whole country from the month of the Yellowstone
to the headwaters of the Saskatchewan.— Fort Benton, Montana,
Sept. 9, 1874.

THE COLOSSAL CEPHALOPODS OF THE NORTH
ATLANTIC. II.

indebted to'professor Steenstrup and to Dr. Halting for our
knowledge of the specimens preserved in European museums, or

LIFE HISTORIES OF THE PROTOZOA AND SPONGES.

cles of food, enter through the system of mouths, and when the food
is absorbed by -the cells of the inner lining, they pass out through
the larger openings. Both the larger and smaller "mouths" are
capable of opening and closing.

The eggs and sperm cells are scattered at irregular intervals
among the cells composing the body-walls ; the spermatozoa are

in some species developed in "mother" cells, as in many of the
higher animals.

The sponges are by Ha?ckel regarded as closely allied to the
Hydroid polypes, members of the Ccelenterates, a division formed
by Leuckart, including the polypes and acalephs. His reasons
are based on the fact that the sponges are made up of two layers
of cells (ectoderm and entoderm, or outer and inner layer) sur-
rounding a central cavity, and that both reproduce by eggs and
spermatozoa, and pass through a "planula" stage.

103

Development. Lieberkiihn made the astonishing discovery, con-
firmed by Hseckel, that sponges were really hermaphrodite animals
reproducing by eggs and sperm cells developed Ft*. 46.
in the same individual sponge. Hseckel showed
that they were probably developed from the inner
(endodermal) layer of cells forming the body,
being simply modifications of these endodermal
cells, much as the eggs of the higher animals are
mod'fied epithelial cells. Fig. 47, from Haackel,
shows one of these cells (of Sycortes quadrangu-
lata) with several spermatozoa mingling their
protoplasmic contents with the protoplasm of the
egg itself.

The endodermal cell transforms into an egg,
according to Hseckel, in the following manner.
At first provided with a "collar" and flagellum «3«j \
much as in the Codosiga figured on page 42, it Schmidt.'
begins to draw these in until they disappear ; then a nucleus (nu-
cleolmus) appears within the nucleolus of the cell. The egg soon
becomes detached from the body wall, and Fig. 47.

th^-r, it lK-in, to tl !] :\;\\u^n t ,,,;, llfre
splitting into two, After Hasckfii.
., nucleolinated cells (Fig 48, total seg-
mentation of eggs of Halisarca),
the process being exactly as in
the eggs of nearly all the higher
animals including man. This
stage of segmentation, like the
mulberry mass of the egg after
segmentation in the higher ani-
la stage (from its likeness to the mul-
, after Carter). The cells of the

105

acter of the organism is revealed. The bod}'- wall becomes per-
forated with pores, which open into the general cavity of the body,

flow out through the so-called mouth. This is the " Proto-
spongia " state, and when spicules of silex or lime are developed
to strengthen the walls of the body, the young sponge is termed
by Haeckel, the « Olynthus."

Thus following the cou--e of development as Haeckel supposed
to be the case with the calcareous sponges, for he, as Metschnikoff
remarks, did not actually observe the stages after the formation
of the ciliated larva we obtain ^ a very clear idea of the typi-

condensed account of the discoveries of Haeckel given by Dr.
Liitken in the "Zoological Record" for 1872, with a few correc-
tions taken from MetschnikofFs paper. The Olynthus, the sim-
plest type of the sponge, is a " cylindrical, clavate or pyriform,
etc., tube, closed at the extremity by which it is affixed, commonly
open by a ' mouth ' at the other ; the body-wall, enclosing the
'gastric' cavity, is a thin membrane composed of the two layers
named above— the 'syncytium' or exoderm [Metschnikoff's inner
layer] a mass of sarcodine with nuclei, the cells of which are so
completely fused together that the original cellular structure
cannot be made visible through any chemical reaction ; if torn
mechanically, the fragments will, whether containing one or more
or no nuclei, take the shape of Amoebaa and walk about. In this
layer 8 the spicula are developed, chiefly of three types — simple,
3-radiate and 4-radiate, anchor-shaped spicula are rare (Syculmis
synapta, anchoring the animal in the mud bottom) ; the stellate
spicula sometimes occurring are foreign bodies, belonging origin-
ally to Didemnia (Ascidia?). The spicula are invested with a
delicate sheath of condensed sarcodine ; they contain an axial

cious spicula ; chemically they are composed partly of Co 2 , CaO,
partly of an organic substance ('spiculin'). The endodermal
cells are, like certain flagellate Infusoria, provided with a collar
and flagellum; they contain a 'nucleus' (with 'nucleolus'),
and often one or two contractile 'vacuola' (water drops);
though without 'mouth,' they both 'drink' and 'eat,' or receive

106 LIFE HISTORIES OF THE SPONGES.

into their interior, not only fluid, but also minutely diffused solid
matter (e. g., carmine), probably through the soft exoplasm be-
tween the collar and flagellum. Liberated artificially, they also
assume amoeboid shapes and motions. On the endodermal cells
devolve the whole of the nutritive (digestive, respiratory and
secretory) functions ; and there can be little doubt that both eggs
and spermatozoa are modified endodermal cells."

Hseckel did not observe the development of the larva, his gas-
trula, into the young sponge. This gap has been filled by Metsch-
nikoff. He observed the course of development in Sycon ciliatum
(Fig. 50) from the segmentation of the yolk, through the larval
state, up to the time when the sponge is fixed and the spicules are

well developed ; in fact, through nearly every important stage in its
life. By making a section through the sponge he found eggs and
embryos in different stages of development in springtime. The
total segmentation occurred as Haeckel describes. Metschnikoff,
however, observed that a small '» segmentation-cavity " appeared
in the egg (Fig. 50, A, c) which soon disappeared (Fig. 50, B).
As a result of the process of division, a roundish embryo appears,
which is made up of a large number of small cells. He was un-
able to study the mode of origin of the germ-layers. The free-
swimming larva (Fig. 50, C) is an oval body, made up of two
sorts of cells : those which are small, long and ciliated, and cer-
tain large round ones, much fewer in number. The first form a

107

sort of arch, with a hollow in the middle, surrounding which a
large number of very fine brown pigment corpuscles are collected.
The next change of importance is the disappearance of the cayity,
the upper or ciliated half of the body being much reduced in size.
Then the large round cells of the hinder part are united into a com-
pact mass, leaving only a single row. The ciliated cells are gradu-
ally withdrawn into the body cavity. Fig. 50, D, shows this process
going on. At this period also the larva becomes sessile, and now
begins the formation of the sponge spicules, which develop from
the non-ciliated round cells. Metschnikoff calls attention to the
fact that at this early stage the Sycon passes through a phase
which is persistent in the genus Sycyssa. The layer of ciliated
cells are gradually withdrawn into the body cavity, until a small
opening is left, surrounded with a circle of cilia. These cilia
finally disappear, and a few more spicules grow out, and meanwhile
the opening disappears. In the next stage (represented at D) a
considerable (gastrovascular) cavity appears, which may be seen
through the body-walls. At this time, by soaking the specimen
in acetic acid, the body of the sponge was seen to consist of

enveloped in the spicule-generating layer (representing the ento-
derm). At this time no mouth-opening was formed, though three-
pointed spicules had appeared.

It results from Metschnikoff s observations that the body of the
larval sponge is composed of two primary germ-layers, an "ento-
derm " and " ectoderm," the two germ layers about which we shall

The observations of Carter, made on several additional species
both of sHicious and calcareous sponges, confirm the results of
Metschnikoff as to the later history of the larval sponge, and those
of Hagckel as to the mode of segmentation of the egg. Our Fig.
48, A (copied from Carter), shows the total segmentation of the
yolk in Halisarca lobularis into two portions ; these portions farther

embryonic cells are produced.

Carter observes that the embryos may be found at all seasons,
from March through the summer. These observations are not dif-
ficult to follow out. We have, by tearing apart a species of Sy-

found the planula much as figured by Hseckel, Metschnikoff and

Carter, and any one can with patience and care observe the life
history of the marine sponges.

It seems, then, that the life history of the sponges consists of
the following stages : —

1. Fertilization of a true egg by genuine spermatozoa; both
eggs and sperm cells arising from the inner germ-layer.

2. Total segmentation of the yolk, or protoplasmic contents of

3. A ciliated embryo.

4. A free swimming " planula "-like larva, with two germ-layers,
not, however, originating as in the true planula of the acalephs.
The planula becomes sessile, spicules are developed in the hinder
end of the body, afterwards a gastro-vascnlar cavity appears,
constituting the

5. Gastrula stage.

6. A mouth and side openings appear and the true sponge char-

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

an octavo volume of two hundred and seventy pages, with three
plates. Beginning with the Araneae he describes the Epeiridae,
Uloborida?, Dictynidae, Enyoidffi and Pholcidas. This arrange-

the work on these families was first finished by the author. The
introduction is promised in a future part, but the present volume
begins with a short review of the principal descriptive works on

European spiders, a list of defin

pinaanidse ; Eresidse ; Epeirida? ; Ulobaridoe ; Therididae ;

Pholcidse ; Hersilidaa ; Urocteidffl ; Eryoidffi ; Agelenidae ;

Dictynida; ; Drassidse.
3rd suborder. Aranese graphosre ; Scytodidse; Dysderidse ;
4th suborder. Araneai theraphosa? ; Filistatida? ; Avicular-

idfe.

The first suborder is founded on the great development of the
head and front legs in the Attidae, the third is the Senoculinae
of Blackwall, the fourth the Theraphores of Walckenaer, and the
second comprises all the other families.

e genera of each family and the species
and Di(

figure of one spider from each :

miskhu and Sparas.si.hu. is to be published next April. The work
will be quite useful to students in this country. — J. H. E.

present report, a good deal of geological and biological work has
been accomplished in connection with the regular topographical
work of the survey. Three parties were in the field, and explored
portions of Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. Consider-
able geological work was done, while Dr. J. T. Rothrock and assist-
ant John Wolfe collected nearly 12,000 specimens of plants, repre-
senting over 1,100 species. A goodly number of animals were
collected, and have been distributed to specialists. The report is
accompanied by a number of descriptions of fossil vertebrates
from New Mexico by Prof. Cope.

Embryology of the Pill-bugs. — An addition of much value to
our knowledge of the mode of growth of Crustacea is afforded by
a Russian embryologist, Dr. Bobretzky in Siebold and Kolliker's
" Zeitschrift." He figures the early stages of the pill-bug, or Onis-
cus murarius, of Europe.

The Entomostuaca.— An extended and beautifully illustrated
memoir by Prof. A. "Weissmann, on the structure of Leptodora hy-
alina, a little European Entomostracan, or water-flea, appears in
the last number received of Siebold and Kolliker's "Zeitschrift."

BOTANY.

A New Material for Paper.— Considerable attention has re-
cently been called in England to the capabilities of the Zizania
aquatica as a material for paper. This grass grows in large quan-
tities in swamps on the Canadian shores of Lakes Ontario and
Erie, and is known to the native Indians under the name of "Tus-
carora," the grains affording an article of diet which is both highly
nutritious and palatable, and furnishing 'food to enormous flocks of
wild swans. The culm grows to the height of eight or ten feet,
and is of great strength and tenacity. It is said to possess all the
good qualities of the " esparto " from the shores of the Mediter-
ranean, now so largely used for paper making in England, and
besides, to contain less silex, to require fewer chemicals for its
purification, and to make a paper which takes printers' ink with
greater sharpness. The great obstacle to its exportation is the
heavy freight in consequence of its great bulk ; but there is little
doubt that if it could be at least partially prepared on this side
the water, it might become an important article of commerce. It
is stated that a company has been formed for the purpose of ob-
taining a concession of the land from the Canadian government.
The grass is nearly allied to the rice belonging to the tribe
Oryzes. — A. W. B.

The Movement of Water in Plants. — Dr. W. R. McNab
of Dublin has performed a fresh series of experiments on the
rate of motion of the sap in plants, and the transpiration of
water from the leaves. The plants selected were the cherry-

Ill

stances, a rate of ascent of 40 inches per hour can be obtained.
2. That, contrary to the generally received opinion, direct exper-
iment has shown that the upward rapid current of water does not
cease in the evening. 3. That checking the transpiration for a
short time by placing the branch in darkness does not materially
impede the rapid current of water. 4. That the removal of the
cortical tissues does not impede the rapid current in the stem,
which moves only through the woody (xyleus) portion of the fibre-
vascular bundles. 5. That a well-marked rapid flow of fluid will
take place in a stem a^er the removal of the leaves. 6. That
fluid will rapidly flow downwards as well as upwards in the wood
(xyleus) portion of the fibro-vascular bundles, as seen in a branch
in which lithium citrate was applied at the top. 7. That pres-
sure of mercury does not exert any very marked influence on the
rapidity of flow, in the one experiment made with a pressure of
110-53 grammes of mercury. — A.' W. B.

The Resurrection Fern. — Pohjpodium incanium, the com-
monest of all the ferns of Florida, is often called the resurrection
fern. It grows mostly upon the trunks and branches of the oaks,
and I have seen the roofs cf old buildings covered with it.
During dry weather it Bhrivela up, and has the appearance of
being dead. While in this condition I secured some, wrapped
them up in paper, and sent them in April last to Cambridge. On
my return to that place in September last, the plants, after having
moist moss placed about their roots, were secured to blocks of
oak wood hung up in the greenhouse of the Botanic Garden.
The leaves unfolded and assumed a bright green color. They
now appear to be in a healthy condition. — E. Palmer.

The True Process of Respiration in Plants. — M. Claude
Bernard pointed out long ago that the process ordinarily described
as that of respiration in vegetables, the decomposition of the C0 2
of the atmosphere, is not properly of this nature at all, but is
rather a process of digestion; the true process of respiration
being of a precisely similar character in the animal and vegetable
kingdoms, viz., an oxidation of the carbonaceous matters of the
tissues. M. Corenwinder of Lille in France, has recently con-
even when concealed by the greater activity of the decomposition

of the CO L , by the parts containing chloroplryll. He distinguishes

period, when nitrogenous constituents predominate, is that during
which vegetation is most active ; the second, when the proportion

respiration is comparatively feeble, the CO* evolved being again
almost entirely taken up by the chlorophyll, decomposed, and the
carbon fixed in the process of assimilation or digestion. He
found that the proportion of nitrogenous matter in leaves grad-
ually diminishes, while that of carbonaceous matter increases,
between autumn and spring. — A. W. B.

Martenia probosc ides.— This is a very common plant in Ari-
zona and is very productive. Its large seed pods after being de-
prived of their epidermis are used by all the Indian tribes of Ar-

is first to soften by means of water the black pods which are very
hard. They readily soften, and are then straightened, split into
the requisite strips and worked into willow baskets to form the
black ornamentations seen in those made by all the tribes of Ari-
zona.— Edward Palmer.

ZOOLOGY.

An Additional Character for the Definition of Rhyn-
invited the attention of my colleagues of the Academy to the re-
divisions of that order of insects. In the first of these I endeav-
ored to show that they formed a group which was equivalent to all
the others combined. The defining character of the group I
stated to be, that the posterior lateral elements (the prothoracic

median line, in such a manner as to form a longitudinal suture be-
hind the end of the presternum ; in all other Coleoptera 2 the pro-
sternum ends in a vacant space, or extends so as to take part in
the articulation between the pro- and metathoracic segments. In

Bombyces." No species of Attaci have yet been discc
Cuba ; the very extensive collections of Lepidoptera mac
Island by Professor Poey and Dr. Gundlach having bee
ined by me (see Grote, on the Bombycida? of Cuba, P
Ent. Soc. Phil., 5). As stated, Linne" has no species u
name Pohj]>Jiemus in his 10th or 12th Editions, or in 1
Lud. Ulr., but I find that in the 13th Edition, p. 2402,

He says: "Habitat in America, boreal i, Jamaica." The preceding
species is his Paphia, of which he says: "Habitat in Asia," and
there is no reference, doubtful or otherwise, to Catesby. So that

doubt that "Linne's Paphia is a distinct species from our Polyphe-

I have recently given the synonymy of the North American forms
of the group {Attaci) to which Polyphemus belongs in the Trans-
actions of the American Philosophical Society. — A. R. Grote.

Notes on California* Thrushes.— The recent appearance of
the excellent work by Baird, Brewer and Ridgway, on the "His-
tory of North American Birds," makes it necessary for me to ex-
plain some discrepancies between my statements in the "Orni-
thology of California" and the views taken by them in relation to

1. A reference to Baird's report, in Vol. IX, P.R.R. series, will

believe that T. ustulatus was limited to the "Coast region of
Washington Territory and Oregon," while the T. nanus was con-
fined to the "Pacific Slope, from Ft. Bridger and Ft. Crook (about
lat. 41°) to the valley of the Gila and Cape St. Lucas.* In the Or-
nithology of California I merely extended the range of ustulatus

posed) while in the Colorado valley, and at San Diego I only
found naiius at that si-asou. Reiving too much on the authority

dwarfed race (without reference to their eastern allies). I may

MICROSCOPY.

Spiders' Web.— Mr. H. J. M. Underhill publishes in "Science

and the mechanism by which it\s produced. He finds that of
the two to four pairs'of spinnerets or web- forming papillae pos-
sessed by spiders, the British species have at least three pairs.
The first, or upper pair of spinnerets, produce plain threads of

T EE IE

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. IX. — MARCH, 1875. -No. 3.

130

But the most accurate accounts extant only date from 1760 of
the present era. Saussure ahout this time made careful examina-
tions of "red snow" obtained from the Apennines. The result
of his investigations was the discovery of a vegetable substance

The subject now remained quiescent until the return of the
Arctic exploring expedition under Sir John Ross in 1819. New
material was now obtained for examination. Specimens of " red
snow" were sent to Robert Brown and Francis Bauer.

lular plant belonging to the order of Algae.

Bauer, however, dissented from Brown, and declared it to be a
species of fungus (Urerfo nivalis). Apart from his conclusions
upon the subject, he made many interesting experiments with the

given. But perhaps the most curious experiment was his attempts
at propagating the Protococcus.

For this purpose he placed some of the " red snow" given him

stead of clearing away all doubts he only served to introduce new

Two years afterwards the question was again agitated by Agardh
and Dr. Greville^ of Edinburgh. Both these observers agreed in
every particular with Robert Brown. Sir William Hooker also,
the eminent naturalist and botanist, later confirmed the views of
Agardh and Greville ; but he named the "red snow" PaJmella in-
stead of Protocols nivalis Agardh. The algic nature of the
plant was thus decided for a time.

During the year 1838 several observers on the continent, among
whom may be mentioned Kunze, Unger and Martins, wrote elabo-
rate monographs upon the subject, but without eliciting anything

Thus far we have had to do only with believers in the vegetable
origin of the Protococcus. There are almost as many eminent
observers arrayed on the opposite side, who pronounce in regard
to its animal nature.

In August, 1839, Mr. Shuttleworth, 4 an English resident of

;ence of s

In 1840, Prole

BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS IN SOUTHERN UTAH. H.

singular arrangement for shooting seeds was brought to my atten-
tion in the case of Gilia setosissima Gray. Wishing to collect
somewhat largely of the seeds of this neat little annual, I watched
more closely than usual the maturity of the capsules. In most of
the other species of this prevalent genus, there is a succession of
flowers and maturing capsules, which latter opening at the summit
discharge their seeds while the plant is still producing flowers,
thus rendering it difficult to secure a large quantity of seed with-
out including capsules not sufficiently mature. But in the case of
Gilia setosissima, all the capsules remain tightly closed till the
whole plant becomes dry and brittle. In then gathering seed by
picking each plant separately, I noticed the seed projected with
some force against my hand. On closer examination I found that
these capsules open from below upwards, and that the tension ac-
cumulated by the shrinking of the tissues in the process of drying
gives an elastic spring to the three separating valves when released
from their attachment at the base of the calyx, that throws the
contained seed from two to six feet. After making this discovery

of the valv. s with the point of a knife, and see how far they would
shoot. The majority of the seeds were scattered within a radius
of two feet, while in the plumper capsules the shots took effect to
a distance of six feet or more. The three separated valves of the
capsules on account of their light chaffy texture were not thrown
as far as the seeds.

A similar character, though less marked, was also exhibited in
certain species of caespitose Phlox, though in this latter case the
explosions observed occurred some time after the capsules were
detached from the calyx. The conclusion arrived at is that the
character of explosive capsules in this particular family is peculiar
to those that open at the base instead of the summit.

In the succeeding paper I shall conclude this account of botani-
cal observations in Southern Utah by a notice of a short excursion
to the alpine district of Pine Mountain, and a more prolonged stay
in the vicinity of Cedar City, including a visit to the elevated sheep
pasture in the adjoining mountain range, — to be followed by an
appendix containing a full list of the plants collected, with de-
scriptions of the new or imperfectly known species.

THE PRAIRIE GOPHER.

The subject of the present history is one of a large group of
small quadrupeds inhabiting the western half of North America,
from Mexico to the Arctic Ocean, as well as a large portion of
the northern hemisphere in the Old World. They belong to the
family of the squirrels (Sciuridce) ; in fact, they are squirrels mod-
ified in a particular way for a terrestrial instead of arboreal mode
of life. We are all familiar with the common little chipmunk
of the eastern states, Tamias striates, and know that, on com-
parison with a true tree squirrel, it differs in having a shorter and
less bushy tail, in possessing large cheek pouches, etc. Now
Tamias is just one step away from Sdurus towards the genus
Spermophilus; and this genus is the group to which the prairie
gopher belongs. In fact Tamias and Spermophilus very nearly
run together, so gradual is the transition anions n 10 several spe-

ve it a blunter muzzle.
Iteration in its fore-feet, so that it c M ,ii-r

close, cut off about a third of

better, we should have a pretty good spermophile, to all int<
and purposes. A little further change in the same points wo
make a prairie dog, which is a kind of spermophile, though 1
placed in a different genus (Cynomys). An extreme of modif
, gives us the squat, heavy wo

chucks, Arctot

the lithe graceful

squirrels we see that the chain of beings is unbroken. We see
now just the links which the spermophiles furnish. They are ter-
restrial, fossorial, gregarious squirrels — by which I mean that
they live sociably in burrows under ground. The broad prairie

places, yet they rarely, if ever, climb trees, and are onl^at home
in perfectly open ground. This fact alone determines their geo-
graphical distribution. Only two species are found at all east of
the Mississippi, and these too haunt the prairie. But thev oeeur
in profusion from the plains to the Pacific, from Mexico northward.
Now that we have some idea of the animals, the next thin<r

1 18

to find a name for them. " Ground squirrel " would be unobjec-
tionable and indeed appropriate, but that is already in use for the
species of Tamias. "Marmot "is sometimes used, the present
species being the tawny marmot of some writers, but this is Hie
name of the woodchucks (Arctomys). "Spermophiles" they have
been called ; but this word is so thoroughly un-English that it will
probably stay in the learned books where it arose. Naturalists, in
fact, have no English name for these animals. But by the people

as this name will certainly stick in the vernacular for all time, we
may as well accept it. We will say " gopher," then.

I elect to write about the prairie gopher — as I shall call that
particular species known in the books as Spermophil us ni<-J<anl-
soni — for several reasons. In the first place. I know more about
it than I do about any other species of the genus at present.
Secondly, nobody else seems to know much about it. Thirdly, it
is one of the most abundant animals of our country, occurring In-
most to the exclusion of other forms o7mammalian life. Millions
of acres of ground are honeycombed with its burrows. Through-
How far from being exhausted is the natural history of the Tinted
States, when of such an animal as this next to nothing to the
point is found written down about it, beyond a description of its
skin and skull and a sketch of those characteristics which it shares
with other Spermophili! Until recently, indeed, a stuffed skin of
the prairie gopher was something of a rarity. Let me make such

mats says no specimens of this species were collected by any of
the Pacific railroad expeditions, and makes use of one in the Phil-
adelphia Academy for description, collected in the Rocky Moim-

well, and is very good, as far as it goes.

150

Baird's and the chestnut-collared bunting. From this point they
stretch clear away to the Rocky Mountains, subsiding only among
the foot-hills of the main range, where the pocket gophers (species
of Thomomys) begin to claim the soil ; but a day's march, indeed,
from the rocky haunts of the little chief hare (Lagomys priitrop*).
The region of the Milk River and its northern tributaries, most of
which, as well as the river itself, cross 49°, is their centre of abun-
dance. Approaching this parallel from another direction, namely
up the Missouri and across country northwesterly from Fort
Buford, 1 I first met with them near the mouth of Milk River, and
^iey almost immediately became abundant. They doubtless ex-
tend down the Missouri to the mouth of the Yellowstone beyond.
Audubon gives the latitudinal distribution from 38° to 55°. The
recently described S. elegans and S. armatus of Kennicott (Proc.
Phila. Acad. 1863, 158), both being mere varieties of Riclwrd*mi,
carry the range of the species in the Rocky Mountain region down
to the vicinity of Fort Bridger.

As already said, the gophers overrun all this prairie country.
Travelling among them, how often have I tried to determine in my
mind what particular kind of ground, or what special sites, they
preferred, only to have any vague opinion I might form upset,

plentiful as ever in some other sort of a place. Pa-sin-- over a

that I would say - tin.- .-nits them best ; " in camp that very night,
in some low grassy spot near water, there they would be, plentiful
as ever. One thing is certain, however; their gregarious instinct
is rarely in abeyance. A few thousand will occupy a tract as
thickly as the prairie dogs do, and then none but stragglers may
be seen for a whole day's journey. Their choice of camping
grounds is however wholly fortuitous, for all that we can discover,
and moreover the larger colonies usually inosculate.

What a country it is, to be sure, where the most persistent of
the minor inequalities of surface are little heaps of dirt alongside
of little holes ! But about these holes, which I suppose I ought to
describe, there is nothing remarkable whatever, except their num-
bers. They are all pretty much alike, yet no two are exactly the

158

On this perfect system the topography alone would be likely to
cost oyer half a million of dollars and pretty certain not to exceed

of the Hoosac Tunnel. Who will say that Massachusetts cannot
afford this sum for a perfect record of the theatre of her indus-
tries ? If, how< ei t be tl o J t tl t t better to temporize
with the matter, it will certainly be possible to get the most im-
portant results with a smaller original map — one twenty-five
thousandth, or about two and a third inches to the mile, will
answer for most of the gi*eat economic purposes of a survey : it

the larger scale. The dimensions of the original maps, it should
be noted, is quite another matter from the size they have in their
published form ; from the original records reductions can be made

When this topography is far enough advanced to give a basis
for other work, the geology and biology should he taken in hand.

tific work, and how are these objects to he attained? To answer
these questions at length is to discuss all the methods and aims of
science. There are some limitations, however, which are worthy

and inorganic, which will require centuries for their complete dis-
cussion. As we do not propose that a survey shall take up at once
all the problems of science, it becomes a nice matter to limit the

. - . ■ • : ' • . •■ .•!-:;:■■::■;

■ -' ■ ' ■ - ' ■ :;: : • V, K:; -

object of a reconnoissance to show what and where these prob-
lems are. Some of them are economical, have money in them ; the
others are economical too, in that higher sense which finds all
truth profitable. Of those which connect themselves immediately
with industry we may mention the following questions: (1) the
distribution of water, its storage and quality; (2) the building-
stones of the state ; (3) the existence of deposits of coal in work-
able quantities ; (4) the distribution of metals, the iron of the

159

reclamation of marshes ; (6) the retimbering of the exposed parts
of the coast. Among the scientific problems, the state affords
some matters of surpassing interest. Probably no other known

derful footprints of the Connecticut Valley. They deserve years

by a careful re-survey of the whole region.

Among the many problems concerning the existing life of the
state, it is difficult to give in a word the most important. A large

soon as a survey begins, these will be increased ; from their labors
wo may hope for a thorough study of the biology of Massachusetts.
The state has already taken advanced ground concerning instruc-

!, „ J t tin p le. to have can ill %

: .! valu 'tobe-inuors. This work need be
of very little expense to the survev ; the state already has nearly
a million of dollars invested in the Museum of Comparative Zool-
ogy, and in the work of cataloguing the animals this noble insti-
tution can make a substantial return through the students it has
trained and the collections it has accumulated. Managed with
discretion, this survey could not fail to bring about a great interest
in science in our public schools of all grades. With good maps
and good catalogues of the natural productions of a country, the

not be hoped for under other circumstances 'I hi N to M -a u-

always must lie In her p^wer to produce men preeminently fitted
for the work of their day. Other states can, almost without effort,

against it ; but her intellectual lead, now so clearly established^
may be maintained to the end if she but care to take the steps
necessary to keep her energies bent towards this object. She must
now foster science as she has established and fostered theology and

THE MODE OF GROWTH OF THE RAD1ATKS.

161

named end in fibre-like processes, which alone possess contractil-
ity and are thought by Kleinenberg to be motor-nerve endings.
These large cells, from combining the functions of muscle and
nerve, are termed " nervo-muscle cells." The little cavities be-
tween the large endodermal cells and the muscular layer which
lies next to the entoderm is filled with small cells and lasso-
cells, forming what Kleinenberg calls the interstitial tissue. From
this tissue are developed the eggs and spermatozoa.

The organization of all the hydroids and even Lucernaria and
the larger jelly-fishes (Discophora) is based on the plan of the
Hydra. They all have a simple body-cavity, but no true alimen-
tary canal surrounded by a perivisceral cavity. This is the dis-
tinguishing character of the Coelenterates. In the jelly-fishes, the
often complicated water vascular system of canals are simply
passages leading out from the axial gastro-vascular cavity. If we
place a jelly fish in the same position as the Hydra, i.e.,. with the
tentacles directed upwards, the general homology between the
parts can be clearly traced. In the Hydroids, such as Sertularia,
etc., the ectoderm is surrounded by a chitinous sheath, secreted
from this layer. While in Hydra the young bud out from the side
of the body, in the Hydroids the young are developed on a sepa-
rate stalk from the barren or nutritive stalk or u zooid." The in-
dividual Hydroid is thus subdivided into a reproductive and a.
nutritive zooid. The reproductive zooids- seldom or never take in
food, but are nourished by the nutritive zooids,. the two zooids
being connected b} 7 a common creeping stem called the "coenosarc."

The Anthozoa or sea anemones and coral polypes ditfer from
the Hydroids and Medusae in having the stomach open at the
bottom into a second and larger cavity communicating with the
radiating chambers. In the Ctenophora there is a decided ap-
proach in the complication of the body to the Echinoderms. The
radiated structure so clearly shown in the lower forms is here in
part subordinated to the bilateral arrangement of parts ; they
have a right side and a left side. They also differ, in the mouth
opening into a wide digestive cavity, enclosed between two vertr*
cal tubes, uniting at the end of the body, where the stomach forms
a reservoir for the gastro-vascular tubes ramifying throughout the
body. They move by a peculiar apparatus consisting of bands of
comb-like flappers. Not detaining the reader with a definition of
the subdivisions of the Coelenterates we shall be content, with

Development of Hydra a ml the Hydroidx. Ehrcnberg first showed
that the Hydra reproduced by eggs which ' become fertilized by
spermatic particles. Kleinenberg describes the testis, which is
lodged in the ectoderm and which develops tailed spermatozoa like
those of the higher animals. They arise, as in other higher ani-
mals, from a self-division of the nuclei of the testis-cells. There
is a true ovary formed in the same interstitial tissue of the ecto-
derm, consisting of a group of cells, which differ entirely in their
mode of formation from the ovaries (gonophores) of the marine
Hydroids, winch are genuine buds.

It thus seems that Hydra is monoecious or hermaphrodite, i. e.,
the sexes are not distinct. The egg of Hydra originates from the
central cell of the ovary; thus confirming the opinion now gener-
ally held that all animals as a rule arise from a simple cell. After
the egg-cell has escaped from the ovary through the ectoderm, it
still holds on by a narrow point to the sides of the Hydra, where
it is fecundated by the spermatic particles discharged into the
surrounding water from the testis.

Fecundation is succeeded by a true segmentation of the egg.'
The young Hydra thus passes through a true " Morula" stage. 1
There is an outer layer of prismatic cells, forming the surface of
the germs, and surrounding the inner mass of polygonal cells. At
first none of these cells are nucleated, but afterwards nuclei ap-
pear, and it is an important fact that these nuclei do not arise
from any preexistent egg-nucleus.

The next step is the formation of a true chitinous shell, envel-
oping the germ or embryo. After this Kh-inenherg asserts that
the cells of the germ become fused together, and that the germ is
like an unsegniruted egg. being a -ingle continuous mass of proto-
plasm. Allmun remarks that "as this phenomenon does not occur

in other Hydroids it can have no general significance for the
development of the order."

The remaining history of Hydra is soon told. In this proto-
plasmic germ -mass there is formed a small excentric cavity; this
is the beginning of the body-cavity, which finally forms a closed
sac. Allman remarks on this discovery of Kleinenberg's that it
is <jlear that the formation of a body cavity by invagination of the
walls [/. e., ectoderm] with the significance which Kowalevsky
has assigned to it in other animals, does not exist in Hydra, and
just as little will it be found in any other hydroid." It will be
seen farther on that in certain medusae, Kowalevsky has discov-
ered that the digestive cavity is formed by the invagination of the
ectoderm, and we have seen (p. 107) that Metznikorf declares
that the ciliated cells lining the gastro-vascular cavity in the embryo
of the sponge are the originally external ciliated cells of the pla-
nula withdrawn into and lining the body cavity.

After several weeks the germ bursts the hard shell and escapes
into the surrounding water, hut is still surrounded by a thin inner
shell. After this a clear superficial zone appears, and a darker
one beneath, which is the first indication of the splitting of the

The embryo soon stretches itself out, a star-shapr s eh it .4.
which forms the mouth. The tentacles next appear. The a
now bursts open the thin inner shell, and the young Hydra aj

There is. then, no metamorphosis in the Hydra; no ciliate
nula. The adult form is thus reached by a continuous grow

It will be seen, to anticipate somewhat, that the Hydr
actly as in the vertebrates, including man, arises from a
developed from a true ovary, which is fertilized by a true
spermatic particle ; that the egg passes through a morula i
that the germ consists of two germinal layers, while fro
outer layer, as probably in the vertebrates, an intermedi;

logue of the middle germ-lamella of the ve
to have originally split off from the ectode
regards the chitinous shell of the germ of Hyd
of the epidermis of vertebrates, being a pr<
or-an in Hydra, but permanent in vertebrates,

164 MODE OF GROWTH OF THE RADIATES.

In all the marine Hydroids, which are more complex in their
individualism than Hydra, the sexes being separate, the eggs and
spermatic particles are thought by Allman to be developed from
the endoderm. But E. Van Beneden has on the other hand shown
that the eggs in Hydractinia are exclusively developed from the
endoderm, while the spermatic cells arise from the ectoderm.

The simplest form next to Hydra is Hydractinia, in which the
individual is differentiated into three sets of zooids ; i.e., a, hydra-
like, sterile or nutritive zooids ; b and c, the reproductive zooids,
one male and the other female, both being much alike externally,
having below the short rudimentary tentacles several spherical
sacs, which produce either male or female medusae. These
medusa buds or closed generative sacs are fundamentally like
the free medusse in structure. The marine Hydroids, then, are
universally dioecious,, and usually each colony is either male or

A pather more complicated form is the common Coryne mirabUis.
Fig. 51 shows, the hydrarium with its long tentacles («) and a the
medusa buds, Fig. 52 its free medusa. Tubularia is a higher form,
and allied to the latter is still another form, Corymorpha pendula
(Fig. 53. After Agassiz).

Figs. 54-58 (after A. Agassiz) represent quite fully the life his-
tory of another Tubularian, Bougainvillia superciliaris. Fig. 54
represents the hydrarium, with the sterile zooids provided with long
tentacles, and the medusa buds of different ages. Fig. 55 shows
a bud still more enlarged, with the proboscis (manubrium) just
formed, and knob-like, rudimentary tentacles. In an older stage
(Fig. 56) the proboscis is enlarged and the tentacles lengthened,
while the depression at the upper end indicates the future opening.
In Fig. 57 the appendages of the proboscis are plainly indicated,
the tentacles are turned outwards. Shortly after this the jelly-fish
breaks loose from its attachment and swims around as at Fig. 58.

How do the zooids first arise ? This leads us to speak of the sim-
plest mode of reproduction in the Hydroids, which is by budding.
The object of sexual reproduction, i. e., by eggs and spermatozoa,
throughout the animal and plant world, is by bringing the germ or
portion of protoplasm of one individual, which is an epitome
potentially of its physical and psychical nature, to mingle with
that of anotler of the same species, so that the offspring may
combine the qualities of both parents* and not deteriorate. T ue

165

species can be reproduced simply by budding, but the result would,
if maintained for a number of generations, in the end prove disas-
trous to its integrity. Nature abhors self-fertilization. So that
while, as in these Hydroids, the zooid form may be produced by
budding, yet the time comes when the individuals of one colony
must mingle their reproductive elements with those of a remote
colony, through the medium of the water. By this mode of repro-

or gemmation has for its object the extension of the colony of
nutritive and reproductive zooids. This alternation of budding
with sexual generation or "alternation of generations," or "parthe-
nogenesis," is first met with in the Hydroids, and we shall find it
often recurring in the higher animals when needed to meet some
special exigency of the species.

Budding begins as a slight protrusion of the basal ]
nosarc) of the colony, which then becomes spherical
club-shaped, as in Fig. 51, until it assumes the form
It remains permanently attached in all the Hydroic

species of Tubularia the heads of the zooids successiv

Multiplication by fission has only been observed in

In this the pendent stomach divided iu two, becomi
which was followed by a vertical division of the urn

animals, includiuu: tin* mammals. The germ elongates ami finally
escapes from the ovisac (gonophore) of the parent as a ciliated
"planula," a term first applied to it by Dalyell.

Now how do these planulas become converted into hydras, and
through them into medusa?? A glance at the accompanying figures
will give the main points in the life history of a not uncommon
Hvdroid found on our shores, a Melicertum allied to Campanu-
la! ia (Fig. 62). We are indebted to Mr. A. Agassiz (Seaside
Studies in Natural History) for the following facts and illustra-
tions regarding its history. After keeping a number of the Meli-
certum in a large glass jar for a couple of clays at the time of
spawning, he found that the ovaries, at first filled with eggs,
brcame emptied, and that the planula?, at first spherical and after-
wards pear-shaped (Fig. 59) swam near the bottom of the jar, and
soon attached themselves by the larger end to the bottom of the
jar (Fig. 60). "Thus their Hydroid life begins; they elongate
gradually, the horny sheath is formed around them, tentacles
arise on the upper end, short and stunted at first, but tapering
rapidly out into fine, flexible feelers; the stem branches, and we
have a little Hydroid community (Fig. 61), upon which, in the
course of the following spring, the reproductive calycles contain-
ing the medusa? buds will be developed."

MODE OF GROWTH OF THE RADIATES. 169

Coming now to the Portuguese man-of-war (Physalia) which have
so much occupied the attention of the best naturalists, it would seem
at first well nigh impossible to trace their relationship with the or-
dinary Hydroids. A Physalia may, however, be compared to a fixed
colony of Hydractinia or Coryne, for example. Each Physalia is
either male or female, and consists of four kinds of zooids ; viz.,
nutritive and reproductive, with medusa buds, which, by their
contractions and dilatations propel the colony onward ; and the
"feeders," a set of digestive tubes which nourish the entire colony.

The Siphonophores (as observed by Gegenbaur, Kowalevsky,
Hseckel and MetschnikofT, in Agalma and several other genera)
arise from eggs which pass through a morula stage, into a ciliated
planula, whose body consists of an ectoderm and endoderm. The
gastro-vascular cavity in the Siphonophores, as in the lower Hy-
droids so far as observed, is formed by a fold of the endoderm,
while, as we shall see farther on, in the Discophorous jelly fishes it
is formed by an infolding of the ectoderm.

The further development of Nanomia, a Siphonophore native to
our northern shores, from the larval state, has been described and
figured by Mr. A. Agassiz. To use nearly his own words, the
Nanomia consists, when first formed, of an oblong oil bubble,
with but one organ, a simple digestive cavity. Soon between the
oil bubble and the cavity arise a number of m< 1 s 1 Is tl o gh
without any "proboscis" (manubrium), as these medusa buds,
vi mining bells," are destined to " serve the purpose of
locomotion only, having no share in the function of feeding the
community." After these swimming buds, three kinds of Hydra-
like zooids arise. In one set the Hydra is open-mouthed, and is
in fact a digestive tube, its gastro-vascular cavity connects with
that of the stem, and thus the food taken in is circulated through-
out the community. These are the so-called "feeders." The
second set of Hydras differ only from the "feeders" in having
shorter tentacles twisted like a corkscrew. In the third and last
set of Hydras the mouth is closed, and they differ from the others
in having a single tentacle instead of a cluster. Their function
has not yet been clearly explained. Gradually new individuals are
added, until a long chain of Ilydmids is formed, which move
gracefully through the water, with the oil globule upj < nim.t .
which serves as a float and is identical with the larg»-ere>ted
"float" of the Physalia.

170

Finally, the higher Hydroids, such as iEginopsis, iEgineta
Cunina and Lyriope have been found by Muller, Agassiz, McCra.ly,
Leuckart, Gegenbaur, Fritz Muller and others, to develop directly
from eggs and pass through a metamorphosis as medusa?. Diiring
the past year (1874) Metschnikoil' has published, with many fig-
ures, an account of the development of Geryonia, Polyxenia
(iEgineta) and iEginopsis.

In these animals the egg passes through a morula stage ; an
outer layer of cells (blastoderm) splits off from the morula, form-
ing the ectoderm and entoderm. The embryo, then, as in Polyx-
enia, passes through a ciliated planula stage. The embryo may
remain spherical, as in Geryonia, or as in Polyxenia and J-Igin-
opsis, the body of the planula becomes greatly elongated anc"
bomcrang-shaped, and from each end are developed the first two
tentacles, then others, and after a slight metamorphosis the adult

The life history of the Hydroids comprises, then, the following
phases in development : —

1, a. Origin of young Hydra by budding.

b. Origin of embryo from egg u i ;ii;/.< ■ ! by spermatozoa.

3. Planula (Gastrula) stage.

5. Medusa, free and discharging eggs.

II. THE MEDUSA (Discophora?).
Passing by the Lucernaria, beautiful and interesting, but of
whose early development we know nothing, we come to the common

larger jelly-fishes of our shores, which differ from the bell-shaped
hydroid medusae in their usually larger size and solid disk, as well
as in the larger number and greater complication of the water
tubes, which ramify and interbranch along the under side of the
disk; and in carrying their eggs in pouches. In our common
Aurelia Jlavidula There are four of these large pouches occupying
the centre of the disk.

The life history of the Aurelia, which we will select as an ex-
ample of the mode of developmenUof this group, since it is best
known, is far less complicated than that of the Hydroids. The
ciliated planulae may be found in the egg pouches of the female
Aurelia during the last of summer. Soon Fig.63.
after the ectoderm and entoderm are

ination of the ectoderm, as stated by Mets-
chnikoff, and they then pass into a gastrula
(planula) stage (Fig. 63, Gastrula of a
form allied to Aurelia ; a, moutli ; 6, gastro-
vascular cavity ; c, ectoderm ; d, entoderm ; Gastrula of an Aureiia-iike
after Metschnikoff) , with a mouth and Medusa,
long digestive cavity. After swimming about for a while they fix
themselves to some object at the bottom of the sea and soon a

ire developed. When of this hydra-like form
>, older, after A. Agassiz) it is called a "Scy-
riginally, as well as the Strobila and Ephyra,

172 MODE OF GROWTH OF THE RADIATES.

been mistaken forand described as an adult animal under that

After assuming this scy phi stoma condition, transverse constric-
tions appear at regular intervals, dividing the column, as it were,
into a pile of saucers ; the edges rise, tentacles bud out, and the
animal assumes the form seen in Fig. 65 (after Agassiz). The
Fig. gg. uppermost disk becomes detached, the rest

separate one after the other and float away in
the form of an "Ephyra" (Fig. 66, after A.
Agassiz) and after some weeks assume the
aurelia or adult condition (Fig. 67). The gi-
gantic Cyanea arctica, which attains a diam-
eter of from three to five feet across the disk,
as Agassiz remarks, is produced from "a hy-
droid measuring not more than half an inch when full-grown."

On the other hand there are several exceptions known to this
mode of development, a few growing directly from the egg, with-

rig.a7.

out passing through a hydra, or scyphistoma stage. Such is the
large Pelagia, as observed by Krohn. Mr. A. Agassiz has ob-
served the same fact in Campanella pachydermia, a minute jelly
fish.

The Discophores, then, develop in two ways :—

A. Directly from the egg (Pelagia and Campanella).

B. From hydra-like young arising from eggs (Aurelh
Cyanea) and presenting the following phases of growth : —

1. Egg.

2. Morula ( ?)

3. Planula (Gastrula).

4. Scyphistoma.

5. Strobila.
■ G. Ephyra.

7. Aurelia (adult).

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

IIayden's Geologt of Colorado. 1 — Within this bulky volume
of over seven hundred pages is contained a mass of geological,
topographical and biological facts concerning Colorado, which
it must be confessed reflect great credit on the management of
the survey and the industry of the gentlemen employed upon it.
Large appropriations have been made by the government for the
survey, as accurate and timely information was wanted. We do
not see but that ample and speedy returns have been made. The
best possible topographical work was wanted, and the public have
it from the best possible source. Information concerning the
mines of Colorado is here given, while the bulk of the volume is
taken up with the legitimate kind of work to be expected from
such a survey. To this are to be added reports on the fossil ani-
mals and plants, and the living animals and plants of Colorado,
thus making it a handbook for the general reader and traveller as

The geological and palaeontological work (fossil plants as well
as animals)) and- the living animals, are more fully illustrated than
in former reports. The outline illustrations, showing the topog-
raphy in combination! with the geology, are admirable. We have

obtained clearer ideas than ever before of the scenic features ot
the Rocky Mountains.

The elevated plateau and mountains of Colorado have a unique

tribution of life, both horizontal and vertical ; the relation of the
physical aspects of Colorado as compared with the plateaux of
Asia and the mountains arising from them, will find a partial solu-
tion in the data given in this report.

In the first eighty pages Dr. Hayden describes the chief ohjocts
of geological interest from Denver to the south and middle parks.

Colorado. He says that there is evidence that the Arkansas valley
was formerly filled with an enormous^ glacier with l-ram-lu- -f

mense granite bowlders scattered over the surfaces. The figure
on page 177 is a view of the rounded and polished rocks in
the valley of a stream which rises among a group of peaks of
which the Mountain of the Holy Cross (Fig. 68) is the most con-
spicuous. "The mountains on either side rise to the height of
2,000 to 3,000 feet above the valley, and the glacial markings are
visible 1,200 to 1,500 feet. The morainal deposits on the north-
west side reach a height of 1,200 feet above the stream, and form
a sort of irregular terrace, which, when cut through

hole' is made in our streams at the present time. Mam
'sheep backs' are still covered with a crust-like enamel, h
ally this has peeled off."

Returning to the Mountain of the Holy Cross, we are t<
the main mass of the peak, like the whole of the Sawateb
is composed of granite gneiss. The summit of the Holy 1
covered with fragments of banded gneiss. The amphithe;
all sides have been gradually excavated, as heretofore de

\m- clearly!^ The ehurncierM ic feature ,.f the Monntaii

178

companied by descriptions of a largo number of new fossil plants.
Prof. Cope's report on the fossil vertebrates of Colorado contains
descriptions of several new species with eight lithographic plates
illustrating them. The zoology of Colorado is treated of in
papers by Lt. Carpenter, Baron Osten Sacken, Dr. Hagen, and
Messrs. Ulke, Smith, Vcrrill, Binney, and Packard. The report
on the geography and topography of Colorado, by Mr. James T.
Gardiner, possesses a high degree of interest, and is an important
contribution to American geography.

BOTANY.

The Lotus in the Detroit River. — Early in the summer of
1868, I attempted the introduction of the Lotus or Chincopin
(Ndumbium luteum Willd.) into the Detroit River, by planting the
seed in nine different places. In company with Mr. Richard
Storrs Willis, I planted (May 2, 18G8) some of the seed in three
places in the Bayou, at his residence at Belle Isle. Mr. Willis
subsequently informed me that one plant was the result of my
sowing ; but I do not know that it ever arrived at perfection. I
have not known of my other locations resulting in even this par-
tial success. But last summer, at a field meeting of the Detroit
Scientific Association, at Grosse Isle, several of the flowers of this
beautiful species were brought me for determination by Miss
Douglass, who had discovered and gathered them the day before
(August 11, 1874) in the Cannard River, Ontario (a tributary of
the Detroit) opposite Grosse Isle. They may have been over-
looked there a long time. The year previous a young lad had told
of finding, in the Cannard. a water lily different from all others,
which led to the above result.

A gentleman has also succeeded in growing the plants from
seed in the Rouge River, which falls into the Detroit a few miles
below the city. They blossomed for the first time last summer.
Another friend, who sowed the seed a year or so ago, has bad us
yet no appearance of its growth. I am aware that it often takes
years to germinate after planting. On August 12, 1872. a seed
which I had planted in my aquarium, 4£ years before, rose to the
surface of the water in the act of germinating. It afterward
sank to the bottom, and settling in the mud, but not rooting, sent
out a long shoot, which (leaf and petiole), on August 17, in 21
hours, grew 4£ inches in length, the weather being very warm.

One could almost see the growth. Another seed planted at the
same time and in the same place germinated in one year. — Henry
Gillman, Detroit, Mich.

ZOOLOGY.

The Geometrid Moths. — The undersigned, desirous of per-
fecting as far as possible a monograph of the Geometrid moths,
would beg the assistance of collectors, especially in the western
and southern states, during the coming season. He would like in-
formation especially regarding the early stages, viz. : specimens and
descriptions of the larva, chrysalis and their habits, as well as the
food plants of any, even the most common species. Due credit will
be given for any new facts. Out of about four hundred species in
Nor,th America, we know of the caterpillars of but about twenty

forms characteristic of this extensive family. The caterpillars
are loopers or geometers, and are very familiar objects, feeding
usually on low bushes and herbaceous plants late in summer.

As every species known is to be figured, it is hoped that ento-
mologists will lend their rarities, and thus aid in the publication
of what, it is hoped, will be a useful contribution to the study of
our moths. To those aiding by the loan of over twenty speci-
mens, a copy of the work will be sent. The larvae can be reared
easily; full instructions may be found in the "Directions for
preserving and collecting Insects," recently published by the
Smithsonian Institution, and which can be had on application to
the subscriber.

Any moths of this family sent to the subscriber will be named
and carefully returned if desired. The work is about ready for
the press, and specimens are desired at once. The collecting
season is May, June and July, in the middle and northern states,
June being the month when they are most abundant. — A. S.
Packard, Jr.

A Double Headed Larva of a Flt.— Professor Weyenbergh of
Cordova, La Plata, describes a double headed larva of Chirono-
mus. The body seems double throughout, though the two heads
begin to unite on the second segment behind the head, and become
fully united on the sixth.

•PBBT

Kamoptorrx tessellata.

overlook the fact of the influence of elevation up* .1 tin distribu-
tion of animal and vegetable life ;— that they should still regard
parallels of latitude, instead of isothermal lines, as bounding the
habitats of species. That such is the case, however, is suHiciently
apparent from such notices as that in the December Naturalist,
respecting the summer distribution of the chestnut-sided warbler
{Deadmka Pens>jl canka), which is but a sample of such remarks
as frei piently occur in reference to the distribution of our birds
and mammals. The merest tyro in the study of the geographical
distribution of animals knows that their range is not only deter-
mined by climatic influences, but that these influences depend
largely upon the character of the surface of the country, as, for
instance, whether it is a level plain or is broken by mountain
ranges, and that increase in elevation is climatically equivalent to
an increase in latitude. If authors would use isothermal lines in
giving the distribution of a species, instead of arbitrary political
divisions, they would be able to speak with much greater precision
in such matters than is customary at present. The isotherms are

acquired by means of our meteorological maps, that it seems quite
time to adopt them in speaking of the distribution of species.

While southern New England may, generally speaking, form
the southern limit of the breeding range of a bird, or of the dis-
tribution of a mammal, reptile or plant, the same species may.
and generally does, exist in the highlands of the Alleghanies as
far south as northern Georgia ; and even species which occur only
to the northward of southern Maine, in the lowlands, not only
occur in the highlands of P.erl^hiie comiiu Massachusetts, but
also southward in the Alleghanies to North Carolina.

A great point will be gained in precision when naturalists come

; ..

said, in speaking of the chestnut-sided warbler, " not known to
bre< I south of th< Meghan ian Faun 1," instead of •• not known to

cism as that made by Mr. Stark (Am. Nat./viII, p. 7^G, Dec,

182

1874). I mention the present case merely by way of illustration,
and not for the purpose of making any special strictures upon my
friend Dr. Brewer, who is by no means in this respect an ex-
ceptional transgressor. If it is urged that the people would not
understand such expressions as the " Alleghanian Fauna," and the
like, it may be said that the time has come when they should be
familiar with them. Most intelligent people know that isothermal
lines vary in direction with the elevation and contour of the land
over which they pass, sweeping, in our own country, far to the
southward in leaving the lowlands of the Atlantic coast ; that they
pass southward of the Appalachian Highlands, and then bend
abruptly northward again along their western base. It is time
they knew, also, that the different zones of animal life follow the
flexures of the isotherms, and that there are natural faunal belts,
sufficiently distinct to be capable of recognition, whose bound-
aries coincide very nearly with certain of these isotherms. Furth-
ermore, that throughout eastern North America, at least, these
faunal belts are already well known to specialists of the subject,
and that there already exist definite expressions for such cases as
the one that has furnished the text for the present note. I will
add. also, that so much is already known of the laws of the geo-
graphica! distribution of animal life, that one could have safely
assumed, from our present knowledge of the general range of
the chestnut-sided warbler, that from its being a rather common
summer resident in southern New England, it would also be found
to breed in the mountainous districts as far south even as northern
Georgia. — J. A. Allen.

GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY.
New Ordek op Eocene Mammals. — At the last meeting of the
Connecticut Academy, Feb. 17th, Professor O. C. Marsh made a
communication on a new order of Eocene Mammals, for which he'
proposed the name Tillodontia. These animals are among the
most remarkable yet discovered in American strata, and seem to
combine characters of several distinct groups, viz. : Carnivores,
Ungulates and Rodents. In Tillotherium Marsh, the type ..f the
order, the skull has the same general form as in the bears, but in
its structure resembles that of Ungulates. The molar teeth are of
the ungulate type, the canines are small, and in each jaw there is
a pair of large scalpriform incisors faced with enamel, and grow-

ing from persistent pulps, as in Rodents. The adult dentition is
as follows : — Incisors f ; canines x ; premolars f ; molars fj.
The articulation of the lower jaw with the skull corresponds to
that in Ungulates. The posterior nares open behind the last upper
molars. The brain was small, and somewhat convoluted. The
skeleton most resembles that of Carnivores, especially the UrsUke,
but the scaphoid and lunar bones are not united, and there is a
third trochanter on the femur. The radius and ulna, and the tibia
and fibula are distinct. The feet are plantigrade, and each had five
digits, all terminated with long, compressed and pointed, ungual
phalanges, somewhat similar to those in the bears. The other
genera of this order are less known, but all apparently had the
same general characters. There are two distinct families, TiUo-
tTieridce, in which the large incisors grew from persistent pulps,
while the molars have roots ; and the Stylinbdontidce, in which all
the teeth are rootless. Some of the animals of this group were
as lfrrge as a tapir. With Hyrox or the Toxodontia the present

ANTHKOPOLOGY.

Clay-balls as Slung Shot or Cooking Stones. — Round
balls of clay as hard as that material could be made were seen
in the museum of Nassau, N. P., labelled from a cave in the
Islands. These might be used for two purposes, as they were
round and the size of a hen's egg ; first, their size and shape fitted
them for a weapon of warfare, if wrapped in buckskin or hide
drawn very tight over it and fastened, leaving a loose end. which,
being firmly fastened over a strong stick, forms a formidable slang
shot. The Apache Indians make and use the same kind of im-
plement, which they use in battle, only their balls are of stone.
The second use to which they might be applied is in cooking. After
being heated very hot they were probably placed in the substance
to be cooked, then taken out and this operation repeated until re-
quired no more. The ancient Indians of the Bahamas made
pottery, as pieces found testify, therefore they could cook in ves-
sels of pottery when stationary, but if travelling, it would be in-
convenient to carry them, as they easily break; but they could
make deep baskets, or trays of twigs, or leaves of the palm-trees
so tight that they held water ; thus, by putting water with whatever

186 MICROSCOPY.

proper appliances, such, for instance, as the serai-cylinder origin-
ally introduced for this purpose by Mr. Tolles.

A slit one-half or one-third as wide as the field gives equally
good results where water-contact of the objective is used, but when
working through air reduces the angle to an evidently fallacious
degree. Glycerine is a better substitute for glass than water is,
and therefore for a thin cover and an objective corrected for best
work through thick covers, glycerine should always be preferred
to water as the immersion-fluid.

" 180°" Angular Aperture. — The latest contribution to this
subject is a note from Mr. Wenham, which, besides its personal-
ities, consists of a violent attack upon an article in the Naturalist
for advocating " 180°." As the article referred to simply mentioned
the 180° as the claim of a certain optician, and did not say one
word in favor of the propriety of the claim, the minor inaccura-
cies of Mr. Wenham's note may well pass uncorrected, while its
sneering tone will be rated at its true worth by those who are
familiar with the courtesies of literature and science. The treat-
ment which Mr. Wenham has received from the Naturalist for
years past is sufficiently well known.

Lest any future writer, rather than use a tiresome circumlocu-
tion, should unfortunately say 180° when he wished to say indefi-
nitely near to 180°, it would be well to have it understood that no
one need consider it either necessary or handsome to make such
unguarded expression the occasion of an abusive reply.

Caps for Mounting Opaque Objects. — Prof. John Peirce of
Providence, K. I., has had a die cut for making a novel kind of
cell, which is excellent for mounting large opaque objects, such as
many mineral specimens and nearly all seeds, which require to be
permanently preserved and at the same time show best without a
cover-glass. The cell is made of thin copper, and has the shape
of a hat with a very low crown. The rim at the bottom is to be
cemented with marine glue to the glass slide, and the top of the
crown is a removable cap slipped on or off at pleasure, so that the
object can be examined or manipulated with the greatest facility.
Though not prepared for the trade, they could probably be ob-
tained, in exchange or otherwise, by any microscopist.

Rogers' Micrometers and Test Plates. — Mr. Rogers of the
Cambridge Observatory has made arrangements to furnish micros-

187

copists with samples of his fine ruling on glass which has been
already noticed in the Naturalist. The lines, which excel any
with which we are familiar except the Nobert lines, are now ruled
from to inch, on glass slips 3x1, and covered with thin

glass. They cost $8 or less, according to fineness.

The Argand Burner. — Microscopists who use illuminating
gas with the common Argand burner will be interested in Mr.
John H. Martin's suggestion of placing a thin piece of mica, with
a small hole punched in its centre, upon the top of the glass chim-
ney. A more perfect combustion of the carburetted hydrogen is
secured, giving a very steady flame, and the full amount of light
with the gas turned about half off.

Monochromatic Sunlight. — Instead of a small disk of blue
glass which has long been used in connection with a shutter or
diaphragm or with some illuminating apparatus, Mr. J. E. Smith
recommends a blue glass pane of about 12x18 inches, standing
at the edge of the table, between the microscope and an open win-
dow through which the direct sunlight enters. The pane is sup-
ported by a cleat, so that it can be instantly placed in position
or removed. The whole instrument stands in the blue light, and
is managed exactly as with ordinary diffused daylight.

Amphipleura pellucida. — The latest measurement of the
striae of this favorite "test" is that of Prof. E. W. Morley, of
Hudson, Ohio, communicated to the Memphis Microscopical So-
ciety, which estimates the markings at 92,600 to the linear inch.

Professor Ludwig's Jubilcium or the celebration of the twenty-
fifth year of his professorship, took place at Leipzig, October 15.
This eminent teacher, founder of the Saxon Physiologische An-
; . -

and fifty private students, whom he has trained in special investi-
gations, and of whom many have since become distinguished pro-
fessors. There was a large assemblage of friends and pupils to
take part in the ceremonies, including Professors Ernst Heinricb
Weber, the Nestor of physiology ; Helmholtz, Du Bois Reymond,
and others of less fame from Upsala, Moscow, Edinburgh, Brus-
sels, Vienna, etc. The oldest scholar proved to be Professor Fick,

188 NOTES.

of Zurich, and on him devolved the congratulatory address, at the
conclusion of which a curtain fell, uncovering a bust of Professor
Ludwig which had been made by Professor Schilling of Dresden.
Professor Cyon, of St. Petersburg, spoke in behalf of Ludwig's
Russian students, and the curtain fell again, displaying an ex-
quisite silver clock. Professor Midler presented an album with
photographs of all his pupils. But the finest of possible gifts
was the superb volume of sixteen memoirs on anatomy and
physiology which had been prepared as a lasting commemoration
of the day. Then followed addresses from former colleagues in
Zurich and Vienna, and presentations of memoirs dedicated to
Ludwig and sent by various learned societies. In the afternoon
the company assembled again in the Hotel Hauffe for a dinner
given to the Professor, at which there was more speech-making.
"I am an old man," said Weber in private conversation, "but I
have never seen or heard of so much honor being done to any
professor. It has never happened (Es ist nie dagewesen)." In the
evening, at Professor Ludwig's own house, the guests found fifty
congratulatory telegrams spread upon the table, which had been
sent from the principal towns of every part of Europe. — Xution.

The trustees of the Peabody Museum of Yale College— Pro-
fessors James D. Dana, Benjamin Silliman, George J. Brush and
Othniel C. Marsh, Gov. Ingersoll, Hon. R. C. Winthrop, and G.
P. Wetmore, — have decided to proceed to the immediate erection
of one wing of the building, at a cost of 8160,000. The lot on
which it is to stand extends from Elm to Library streets, being
one hundred and forty-five feet deep, and four hundred and four-
teen feet in length. The front of the entire building will extend
three hundred and fifty feet on High street. The wing to be
erected at this time will have a front of one hundred fifteen feet
on High, and one hundred feet on Elm streets, and will contain
three stories with a high basement. The basement wilt contain
working rooms, and fossil foot-prints ; the first main story, a lecture
room and mineralogical specimens ; the second story, geology,
especially fossil vertebrates ; the third story, zoological speci-
mens ; the attic, archaeological and ethnological specimens. The
mineralogical collection of the Museum is to be under the charge
of Professor G. J. Brush, the geological department under Pro-
fessor O. C. Marsh, and the zoological under Professor A. E. Ver

189

rill. The original gift of Mr. Peabody was $150,000, with the
provision that a fire-proof building be erected, and $50,000 kept
as a reserve fund. In accordance with the terms of the gift, the
land is to be given by the college, and the building, when com-
pleted, is to be the property of the college. A building fund has
been reserved which will not be used until it amounts to at least
$100,000.

Sir Charles Lyell, the eminent geologist, died Feb. 22, at the
age of seventy-seven. He was born Nov. 14, 1797. He began
to publish geological papers in 1826. In 1830 appeared his
"Principles of Geology." This work was original in its method,
as tlte author sought to explain past geological events by laws in
operation at the present time. The doctrine is called Uniformita-
nanism. and is of a piece with Darwinism and evolution. Lyell
in a measure was to geology what Darwin is to biology.
. Sir Charles Lyell visited this country in 1841. His journey
resulted in the publication of "Travels in North America in
1841-2." "A Second Visit to the United States" appeared in
1849. His « Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man " was
published in 18G3, in which he endorsed the theory of Mr. Darwin,
though previously opposed to the development hypothesis, which
his whole course of geological thought had unconsciously perhaps
to himself favored.

The Cornell University has just received from Australia, through
Prof. H. A. Ward, a foetal Dugong (Halicore austrcdis), about 24.
feet long, well preserved in salt. The intestines had been re-
moved, but the other viscera, including the peculiar bifid heart,
are in good condition.

It is my hope that its dissection may throw some light upon the
general homology of the pectoral muscles with mammals ; and
that its brain and other organs may lend some aid to our knowl-
edge of the relations of this peculiar group of aquatic Herbiv-
ora. — Burt G. Wilder.

The Newark (New Jersey) Scientific Association was organized
in January last, with the following officers :— President, Dr. A. M.
Edwards ; Vice President, Dr. A. N. Dougherty ; Secretary, G. J.
Hagar ; Treasurer, W. S. Nichols. The Association will hold
monthly meetings, give lectures and form a cabinet. It intends
to pay special attention to local natural history, and do what it

190

can in promoting science in Newark and vicinity. We are glad to
see these new societies come into existence, and hope that every
city and town in the country will soon have its scientific society.

We have been requested by the author to state that the Con-
gressional edition of Capt. W. A. Jones' report on his reconnais-
sance of N. W. Wyoming, in 1873, contains only one-half of Mr.
T. B. Comstock's geological report. The copies ordered for the
use of the Engineer Office in Washington (to be published as
soon as possible) will contain seven more chapters, with twenty-
nine additional cuts. The forthcoming portion will be more valu-
able than the eight chapters already published.

"The Natural History Association of North Western College,"
at Naperville, Illinois, has recently completed its organization.
The following are the officers :— J. L. Rocky, President, A.Gold-
spohn, Vice President, J. W. Troeger, Secretary, C. F. Rassweiler,
A. M., Treasurer, Prof. H. H. Rassweiler, Curator, Miss N. Cun-
ningham, Directress of the Botanical Department, C. H. Dreis-
bach, Director of the Mineralogical, and J. W. Troeger of the
Zoological.

The "Dunkirk Microscopical Society" was organized in June
last and now consists of thirteen members. Its officers are Prof.
J. W. Armstrong, D. D., President, and Geo. E. Blackham, M.D.,
Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. Its regular meetings
are held on the second Friday of each month.

A Fungus show has been held at Munich, in the Crystal Palace
there, from October 3rd to 11th, and is said to have been visited
by nearly 50,000 persons. The arrangements were well made
and the plants carefully labelled. A list of the species exhibited
will be found in the " Gardener's Chronicle."

The Memphis Microscopical Society, organized last summer,
with a membership at the outset of about thirty, is doing good
work. At least one paper of considerable importance has been
read at its monthly meetings. Papers or specimens are earnestly
desired, in order to add to the interest of the meetings.

A society for the promotion of science and history was formed
in November last under the title of the Central Ohio Scientific
Association, at Urbana, Ohio. Theo. N. Glover is the president
and Thos. F. Moses the corresponding secretary.

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. IX.-APKIL, 1875. -No. 4.

ABOUT STARCH.

BY PROF. M. W. HARRINGTON.

Perhaps it would be more correct to have our title read "About
Starches," for each species of the higher plants seems to have its
own characteristic and recognizable sort of starch.

One of the most easily recognizable sorts of all is the starch
from the potato. It is very easily got at, too, and requires little

Pig. re.

or no preparation for its examination. Take a fresh potato and
cutting it open, take the thinnest possible slice which one can
make with a sharp razor. Deposit the slice on a glass-slip, drop a
little water on it, cover it with a thin glass, and it is ready for

Placing the specimen now under the microscope — a magnifying
power of 250 diameters d oes very well — we see (Fig. 72) an im-

194

mense number of bodies of two sorts. The most striking are
ovoid bodies of considerable apparent size, often showing a series
of eccentric rings, the one within the other. Sometimes the rings
are seen to be arranged about a dark point or nucleus. Mixed in
with these ovoid bodies are large numbers of much smaller disk-
shaped ones, without apparent rings. These two sorts of bodies
are the starch granules of the potato, 'it is no unusual thing to
find two pretty distinct sizes of starch grains in the same plant.
There are intermediate forms of all sizes, but the two sizes re-
ferred to so much predominate as to strike the attention at once.
The grains are packed in very elosely together in much larger cells
the cut edges of which can be distinguished, although they are
very transparent. Here and there in the section are spots without
starch grains and with much finer tissue. These are sections of
the vascular bundles where longer and fibre-like cells and vessels
which arise from the stem pass through the tuber. Toward the
edge of the potato, too, the starch grains are seen to grow less
numerous and the cells smaller with thicker walls.

To render the position of starch and cell-walls still more evident,
let us apply a little of the aqueous solution of iodine to the speci-
men. This can be readily done by placing a drop at the edge of
the thin glass cover. It will be gradually drawn under to mingle
with the water. Meantime its progress and its effect can be
watched with the eye at the microscope. Should the iodine not
pass readily under the glass cover, its progress can be hastened
by placing a bit of blotting paper in contact with the cover on the
other side. As it absorbs the water, the iodine will pass in to
supply its place. As the iodine comes in contact with the cell-
walls they are stained a rich gold-color. At the same time, a
series of changes is taking place in the starch. The grains were
at first colorless and transparent; as the iodine reaches them,
they are stained, first yellow, then red, violet, blue, and finally an
opaque black blue, if the iodine is strong enough. Here we have
the cell-walls colored one tint, and the starch another, and.it is
very easy to determine their relative positions.

The use of iodine is the most usual test for starch, and the re-
sulting blue color is just as certain in the blue grains under the
microscope as in the starch-paste in use by chemists. If sulphuric
acid is added to the specimen, the cell-walls gradually turn
blue too.

195

We have now the position, the general appearance and the usual
test for starch. Let us examine it more carefully to see what its
structure is. For this purpose take a very little matter scraped
from the cut surface of the potato ; aim to get only starch and
none of the cell-structure. Place this on a clean glass slide, add
a drop of water and put on a thin glass cover as before. By care-
ful management of the light, we can probably now see the concen-
tric rings quite plainly. They have the shape of the outline of
the starch-grain. If it is egg-shaped, as is usually the case, so
are they. If it is almost triangular or linear, as sometimes hap-
pens, so are the concentric rings. These rings are sometimes
easily seen ; at others, only considerable care can bring them out.
I have sometimes found them plainer in the starch from a sprout-
ing potato than from others. In potatoes frozen and thawed, they

appear distinct. If they can be brought out in no other way, the
application of dilute chromic acid will usually show them very
plainly. A few lines, scattered among the rest, are generally
plainest.

Are these lines simple markings on the surface of the grains, or
are they edges of layers one inside the other? In order to ascer-
tain that we must roll them over and see how they look on the
edge or on the other side. This is easily clone. We have only to
incline the body of the microscope a little more, and sorne of the
grains will he carried down by the action of gravity, and will roll
over with more or less freedom. If this does not serve, we can
press on one edge of the thin cover with the point of a pencil, and
a great commotion will be caused among the grains. As this sub-
sides, we can watch some of them rolling over leisurely, now
stopping for a moment on the face to give us an opportunity to
examine that side, then rolling up on edge and hesitating there

106

while we survey that side too. Now if the lines are on the sur-
face, a grain like a (fig. 73) would look like b when rolled up on
its side. If, on the other hand, these rings mark the edges of
concentric layers, coats arranged like the coats of an onion, they
would be arranged in the edge view of the grain essentially as they
are in the side view. As the grains roll over, we see very dis-
tinctly the rings are concentric yet ; the starch grain must be com-
posed of layers one over the other.

If we take a little of the starch from the potato and dry it,
without the addition of water, at a temperature of perhaps 150°,
we shall see a dark point appearing at one end — usually the
smaller. This is the nucleus and around it are arranged the con-
centric rings already mentioned. It has been described as a little
pedicle or stem by which the starch-grain is attached to the cell-
wall. This was when it was still thought that the grains budded
out from the wall, a theory completely disproven now, by what is
known of the development and functions of the wall, as well as by
specific observations on the formation of the grains themselves.
The nuclei have been described too as holes, passing into the inte-
rior from the outside, and admitting the materials from which the
successive layers were formed from without inwards. If the de-
velopment of the starch-grain were endogenous, there might be
some ground for this hole-theory of the nucleus, but it is now well
proven that their formation is from within out, or exogenous.
There is no easily accessible specimen at this season of the year,
to illustrate this, but writers generally refer to ripening corn,
where all the stages can sometimes be seen in a single grain.
However, we can easily prove with the specimens under examina-
tion that the nucleus is neither a little stem nor a canal. If it
were either, it would appear, as we roll the grains, sometimes
elongated. As we roll the grains over, by inclination of the
stage, or pressure from one side, as before, we see no difference in
the shape. of the nucleus. It is the same round or angular black
spot, occupying the same position from whatever point it is viewed.
If we are lucky, we may get a grain up on end, and examine it in
the direction of its long diameter. The position of the nucleus
and arrangement of the rings remain the same.

What can we conclude concerning the nature of the nucleus
from this? It was indistinctly or not at all visible in the fresh
grain ; it beoomes visible on drying, and looks like an air space.

ABOUT STARCH.

197

It is in the structural centre of the grain. If the drying is cur-
ried far enough, cracks may be seen extending from the nucleus.
They generally radiate, looking something like a star. Sometimes
one long crack runs the greater part of the length of the grain.
The cracks may and may not reach the surface. Taking all these
facts together we can draw the fair conclusion ; that the layers
differ in density; that the inner layers are softer than the outer,
because they contain successively more water ; that the water is
driven off by the heat and the consequent vacuity appears, form-
ing the " nucleus," where there is most water, that is, in the inner-
most layers ; that farther drying causes cracks to appear in the
harder layers, the longer the drying the more extensive the cracks.

Further evidence in favor of this explanation of the starch-
grain is afforded by the action of hot water and chemicals. If a
little starch is boiled, the grains swell, burst and emit much glairy
matter. At the same time a thin pellicle sinks to the bottom and
is only gradually absorbed. These phenomena can be partially
seen in a test-tube. They can be watched under the microscope
if the observer has the apparatus for heating his slide without in-
juring his objectives. For those who are without this apparatus,
perhaps the best way is to deposit a little starch with two or three
drops of water on a glass slide, and then boil the water down
without the application of too much heat. The slide should be
allowed to cool before it is placed under the microscope. Starch
can then be seen arrested in every stage of solution. One is
apparently untouched ; another is slightly swelled ; another is
much swelled at one end ; still another is just ready to burst.

A similar series of phenomena can be seen by the application of
caustic potash. Arrange a slide as before, for the application of
iodine and treat in the same manner. The approach of the re-
agent causes a great commotion among the starch grains. They
become uneasy, dance about, and finally sweep away. to the other
side of their limits. To see the action of the potash well, one
must select a field easily accessible to the reagent, but where the
exit of the grains is prevented by an air-bubble or bit of tissue
just behind them. That being the case, the grains advise the ob-
server of the approach of the potash by becoming very uneasy.
As it strikes them they begin to swell, the swelling extending
down their length as the potash advances. The swelling is mostly
lateral, and what was an ovoid body before becomes a broad disk.

198

Meantime the grains warp and twist and writhe about. Separated
before by considerable spaces, they now block up the whole field,
and their outlines gradually disappear until the whole is a homo-

The action of sulphuric acid differs a little. There is the same
uneasiness of the grains on the approach of the acid. Meantime
the concentric lines grow very sharp and distinct. When struck
by the acid, the grains swell until nearly globular, then a fissure
appears, generally in the vicinity of the nucleus. The grain is rent
from side to side, and a mass of liquid matter with some grains
intermixed, shoots out with so much force that it is sometimes
carried to a distance of two or three times the diameter of the

From these observations it appears evident: that the outer
layers are more dense than the inner ; that the semi-liquid interior
absorbs water or other fluids by endosmose until the exterior is so
much expanded as generally to burst ; that the outer layers are
much less readily dissolved than the inner.

The use of the polarizing apparatus shows in a striking and
beautiful manner that the nucleus coincides with the optical centre
of the grain— which might be translated that the layers are really
regularly arranged around the nucleus. It also brings out more
clearly the rings themselves. If abundance of light is used, and
a plate of selenite is inserted between the object and the analyzer,
a cross of colors of rare beauty is seen on the grains. If the
polarizer is now rotated, the play of colors is very beautiful.
The interesting fact to us, however, is that the arms of the color-
cross meet at the nucleus.

We have thus seen that the starch grain is an organized body,
composed of layers arranged about an eccentric focus, and that
these layers increase in density from within out, the innermost
being comparatively soft.

BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS IN SOUTHERN UTAH.

When exposed to the withering summer heat of 105° to 110° F.
in the valley of the Virgen, it was tantalizing to see within twenty
miles to the north the rugged slopes of Pine Mountain streaked
with patches of snow. Having secured most of the lowland and
desert plants, I was anxious to supplement my collection with the
alpine flora of the adjoining high mountain districts. Accordingly,
on the 8th of June, I undertook an excursion to Pine valley, occu-
pying an extensive basin on the northwest slope of Pine Moun-
tain, thirty miles by the travelled road from St. George. Our
route, which if practicable would have followed up the valley of
the Santa Clara to its extreme sources, mounted by a series of
very steep ascents to the abrupt sandstone ridges bounding the
valley on the left. Higher up the rugged features of the bald up-
lands are greatly exaggerated by a confused intermingling of
sedimentary and igneous rocks. Recent volcanic overflows had
partly filled up the denuded sandstone ravines, with floods of
black, scoriaceous lava. Some distance farther on the source of
these igneous products is brought to view in two distinct volcanic
cones, with clearly defined craters. The course of the Santa Clara
through this confused labyrinth of aqueous and igneous deposits,
is completely hid from view in inaccessible chasms. At a consid-
erate elevation towards the foot-hills of Pine Mountain, there is
a stretch of comparatively level country, scantily watered by irreg-
ular snow-fed streams, known as Daraaran Valley. Here the poly-
morphous evergreen shruh oak ( undulata Torr.) makes
its appearance associated with the still more spiny-leaved Bar-
berry (Herberts Fremontii Torr.). Occasionally in strongly im-
pregnated saline soil, was noticed a broad leaved Lycium, the
species of which, on account of the absence of flower or fruit,

Frequent along the roadside was an old Californian acquaint-

known east of the Sierra Nevada, ami ;is if to keep up the distant

(199)

200 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS IN SOUTHERN UTAH.

association there were occasionally extensive patches of Emme-
nanthe penduliflora Benth. (No. 175). In our noon halt under
the shelter of a wagon-bed, it was quite refreshing to be able to
gather an abundance of Gilia filifolia Nutt. (No. 195) and Centro-
stegia Thurberi Gray (No. 232), without necessary exposure to
the hot sun. In crossing over the prolonged spurs of the moun-
tain range to reach the northwestern slope of Pine mountain, we
encounter a growth of clumpy cedars, in the shelter of which were
found scattering plants of the Frasera albo-marginata Watson
(No. 203) only known before from scanty specimens collected by
Dr. Palmer in this same section in 1870. In similar gravelly
stretches we also find Caulanthus crassicaulis Watson, Physaria
Newberryi Gray, and Thelesperma *<'W,, (/ .//V{f'<.;/,/,,j. Gray (No.
108). Quite conspicuous along the borders of rivulets and moist
springy places, occurred the showy-flowered Pentstemon I'almcri
Gray, lately extensively introduced into gardens from seed dis-
tributed by Mr. A. L. Siler.

Our upward route occasionally crossing the clear dashing stream
of the Santa Clara along its upper course, finally emerged into
the wide open basin of Pine valley, lying at the base of steep
mountain ridges heavily timbered with pine and spruce. The reg-
ular outlines of this basin at once indicate it as the bed of an an-
cient lake, since drained through the deep gash through which the
Santa Clara courses to mingle its tribute of melting snow with the
turbid waters of the Virgen. The atmospheric coolness of this
elevated district afforded a refreshing contrast with the torrid heat
of the lowlands, and was especially noticeable in the vegetation,
which exhibited a more northern aspect. In the cultivated fields the
difference was equally striking ; wheat then ready for harvest at
the mouth of the Santa Clara, was just spreading out its early
leaves at its upper sources ; cotton-woods which several weeks
before had opened their bolls in St. George, were barely in bud at
Pine valley. In fact the flowering season in these elevated dis-
tricts was only just commenced, and the bald alpine ridges toward
the summit of the range showed no signs of advancing vegetation,
being still occupied by scattered snow drifts. Under these cir-
cumstances only the lower slopes afforded scope for botanizing
during the short stay devoted to this section.

Disagreeably abundant in all the foot-hills, as a serious impedi-
ment to comfortable travelling, is the deciduous leaved shrub oak

(Quercus undulata Torr. var. Gunnisoni Engel. ined.). Much
more attractive with its glossy foliage and long feathery seeds, is
the mountain mahogany, Cercocarpus ledifolius Nutt. (No. 58),
which here attains the dimensions of a small tree often twenty
feet in height, with trunks six to eight inches in diameter. Along
the borders of all the numerous mountain streams the common
alder (Alnus incana var. glauca) is abundant, associated as else-
where in the Rocky Mountain districts with Betula occidentalis
Hook. As if to complete on a small scale the resemblance with
analogous eastern sections, the western sugar maple (Acer grandi-
dentatum .Nutt.) makes its appearance. Though generally of a
low bushy growth, it occasionally attains the size of a small tree,
with trunks a foot or more in diameter. The wood in hand speci-
mens is undistinguishable from our hard maple, and is applied to
similar uses. The Coniferae of this section include, on the lower
slopes extending down into the valley, large trees of Pinus pon-
derosa and Abies Douglasii, succeeded higher up by scattering
growths of Pinus Jlexilis and Abies concolor, and towards the sum-
mit by dense forests of Abies Engelmanni. The highest elevation
is at no point sufficient to show a well-defined timber line, though
bare alpine patches are spread out at various exposed points near
the summit of the range. The lower dividing ridge to the north
and west is mainly occupied hy a scattering growth of cedar, the
undergrowth affording the following plants, viz. : Physaria New-
berryi Gray (No. 14), Pachystima myrsinites Raf., Astragalus atra-
tus Watson (No. 47), Hymenopappus. luteus Nutt. (No. 107),
Gilia aggregata var. Bridgesii (No. 194), Echinospermum deflexum
Lehn. (No. 172).

In the upper portion of the main valley was found a very neat
species of Trifolium with large reflexed heads, Trifolium Bolan-
deri Gray (No. 34). Near by on the borders of a springy bog
occurred in great abundance the interesting Leicisia Brachycalyx
Engel. (No. 22). This rare species, only known heretofore by a
few imperfect fragments, will be characterized anew by Dr. Engel-
mann in the accompanying list. Though much inferior in beauty
to the northern typical species (Leicisia rediviva Ph.), it still pre-
sents the same style of flower and foliage on a somewhat smaller
scale, and being undoubtedly hardy, may be improved by cultiva-
tion. Some of the more familiar aspects of the sub-alpine flora
were presented in the well known Rocky Mountain forms of Aqu i

legia ccerulea Torr., Mertensia sibirica Don., and Pohmonium hu-
mile Willd. It would have been interesting Inter in the season to
have made a more thorough examination of the high alpine expos-
ures, which from their isolated position would doubtless afford
rare or new species. The exchange from the cool snow-drifts of
Pine mountain to the oven heat of St. George proved much less
pleasant than the reverse process, though more easily accom-
plished. It is worthy of remark in this connection to note the
mutual dependence of these two strongly contrasted but adjoining
districts. Thus the moisture, condensed either in the form of sum-
mer rain or winter snow on these high mountain ridges, is not all
exposed in open water courses to be directly returned to the at-
mosphere by the intense evaporation of the lower desert tracts. A
large part of it sinks into the pervious sandstone strata, dipping
towards the south, thence working its way through deep unseen
channels, it breaks out in the form of copious springs at the base
of the high cliffs bounding the Valley of the Virgen. From this
source is derived the necessary supplies of irrigating water for the
gardens of Washington and St. George. In return, these semi-
tropical districts contribute to the dwellers in the mountains the
elaborated products of the choicest garden fruits that would be
otherwise unattainable. Without such a mutual exchange neither
of these sections would be as well adapted as now for civilized

On the 25th of June having completed my botanical collection
in the valley of the Virgen, I left on my return route to Salt Lake,
having arranged to spend a few weeks in the more elevated dis-
tricts within the rim of the great basin.

On reaching Cedar city, sixty miles to the north of St. George,
in the latter part of June, it was hot very encouraging to note that
the continued dry season had in a great measure completed the de-
velopment of the early Spring plants, which were but scantily suc-
ceeded by later summer forms. On the rocky and variegated
marly exposures adjoining the town, the conditions seemed es-
pecially favorable for a peculiar flora, and this expectation was in
a measure realized, though in scanty forms. Among these is a
well marked new species of Gaillardia characterized by Prof. Gray
as Gaillardia acaulis n. sp. (No 120).

Here also occurred quite abundantly a species of Lepidimn near
to Lepidium integrifolium Nutt., or possibly a new species (No. 16).

203

Other rarities include Polygala subspinosa Watson (No. 32),
BricMlia Unifolla D. C. Eaton (No. 89) and Eriogonum villifio-
rum Gray (No. 243). On one of the exposed rocky slopes was
gathered a dwarfed variety of Cercocarpus ledifolius Nutt., or pos-
sibly a new species to which the name of Cercocarpus intricatus n.
sp. (No. 59) may be provisionally applied. Along the gravelly
margins of Cedar Creek was found Astragalus Sonorm Gray (No.
53), Astragalus -longocarpus Gray (No. 52) Thelesperma sub-
nudum Gray, n. sp. (No. 109) and Lygodesmia grandifiora Gray
(No. 128). On shaded hill-sides, Cercocarpus ledifolius Nutt.,
Cowania Mexicana Don.. and Fraxinus anomala Torr. (No. 210),
are abundant. Having soon exhausted this scanty flora, my at-
tention was directed to the high mountain range of the Wahsatch,
rising abruptly to the East, and overlooking the southern exten-
sion of the great interior basin. An ascent of about 3,000 feet
in a distance of three miles, brings us to the outer crest of the
range, which extends eastward in an irregular series of undula-
tions to the upper Sevier valley. At several points on the lee
side of steep ridges there were still the remains of rapidly wasting
snow banks. Notwithstanding the comparative elevation and
freshness of vegetation, there was a scant supply of surface water
except immediately adjoining large snow banks. The prevalent
timber growth was made up of interrupted groves of Aspen pop-
lar, some high ridges in the distance showing a few scattered pines
and spruces. Four miles back towards the interior of the range,
the country expands into wide grassy slopes, and frequent springs
and running streams bordered by snow drifts, give unwonted fresh-
ness to the pastoral scenery. Here is located the summer sheep
range, and dairy farms of this district, of which the only apparent
drawback to their attractive and productive features, is the an-
noying prevalence of blood-thirsty flies.

The botanical features are very similar to other elevated pas-
toral distriets in the interior West. Senecios and Arnicas serve
to give a yellow cast to the open grassy meadows ; shades of blue
are supplied by thrifty Delphiniums. In the aspen copses there
is a dense undergrowth made up mainly of Prunus, Rosa, Sym-
phoricarpus, and Salix. Less conspicuous but more interesting as
poeuliar to the flora of this district may be noted Cahui'lrimt
pygmcea Gray, Trifolium eriocephalum Gray (No. 35), Oxgtrophi*
campestris var. ? and Cordylanthus Kingii Watson (No. 156).

204

BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS IN SOUTHERN UTAH.

The destructive effects of exclusive sheep grazing on the native
forage grasses, was manifest in a disagreeable prevalence of the
common yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.), wherever the herds had
been long stationed. On other hill slopes the entire vegetation
was usurped by a bushy perennial umbelliferous plant. Ligusticum
Scopulorum Gray (No. 82), which alone seemed capable of with-
standing the destructive effects of close grazing ; possibly its pro-
tection is due to some nauseous quality serving to keep the sheep
herds at a distance.

On account of the severity of the weather, and the great depth
of winter snow, this mountain section is abandoned in the winter
for the warmer, though less productive sage-brush lowlands. No
attempt has yet been made to establish permanent settlements
here for the cultivation of the rich soil, though apparently admir-
ably fitted for the growth of the hardier small grains and root

After spending a few days very pleasantly in the rude homes of
these hospitable herders, I returned to Cedar city, by a very direct
trail, leading down the steepest part of the mountain slope. On
this route I was fortunate in securing good fruiting specimens of
Astragalus megacarpus Gray (No. 51), hitherto only known from
NuttalPs original specimens.

On this same trip my attention was particularly directed to the
two species of Rocky mountain balsam, Abies grandis Lindl., and
Abies eoncolor Engel. ined. ; in regard to which so much needless
confusion has arisen. I here found the two species growing not
far distant from one another, and exhibiting plainly their distinct-
ive characters (as trees if not as herbarium specimens). Thus
we may note Abies grandis with a more strict habit, narrower
leaves, smooth bark (at all sizes) and deep purple cones, more ex-
clusively confined to high elevations. Per contra; Abies eoncolor,
less pyramidal in shape, with much broader leaves, rough fur-
rowed bark (in old trees) and apple-green cylindrical cones, found
growing at much lower elevations on the mountain slope, and less
exclusively confined to moist ground. It is to be hoped that this
latter species may soon be introduced into cultivation when its or-
namental qualities can be more fully developed. Succeeding my

frequency and copiousness. Dark thunder clouds hovering about
the distant mountains to the east which they illuminated with the

most brilliant electrical discharges, were the sure precursors of
floods sweeping down the rocky bed of Cedar creek. The partic-
ular location of each storm was plainly indicated by the different
colored mud, brought down on the swollen flood, varying from
dark brown to dirty yellow or dull red. The stratified deposits
thus spread over the bed of the great basin made up the perma-
nent geological record of summer storms in the Wahsatch in 1874.

On the 20th of July I took final leave of this section of south-
ern Utah, carrying with me many pleasant remembrances of the
kindness and hospitality received from this much misrepresented
Mormon people, who in supplanting the digger Indians by civil-
ized homes of industry and refinement, are deserving of more
credit than they have yet received.

The list of plants following will conclude the present paper.

THE INDIAN CEMETERY OF THE GRUTA DAS
MUMIAS, SOUTHERN MINAS GERAES, BRAZIL.

The Fazcnda da Fortaleza, also known as Santa Anna, formerly
the property of the late Barao de Lage, and probably the finest
plantation in Brazil, is situated in the southern part of the prov-
ince of Minas Geraes at a distance of about seventeen miles to
the east of the city of Juiz de Fora. 1 It belongs to-day to the
Conselheiro Diogo Velho C. de Albuquergue, a gentlemen celebra-
ted as a politician, and who occupies the important post of Presi-
dent of the Uniao Industria road. The region in which the Fa-
zenda is situated is composed of gneiss, similar to that of the Serra
do Mar, and of the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro, and probably of

At a distance of a league, more or less, to the south or south-
east of the Fazenda, is a line of high hills of the same gneiss,
three of which form prominent heads presenting lofty, almost per-
pendicular precipices, smooth and rounded and striped vertically
with black bands, like the cliffs of the neighborhood of Rio de Ja-

the Morro de Diogo Velho, and at a height of about seven hundred
feet above the level of the Fazenda. It consists of an irregular
excavation which penetrates the hill in a direction S. 60° W.
(mag.) its axis being considerably inclined so that from the mouth
to the end of the cave, the floor offers an ascent.

The roof and sides of the cavern form together an arch whose
curves are sometimes quite regular. In various parts of the grotto
there are in the sides and roof more or less deep, rounded exca-

biing potholes, but which are, however, not due to the action of
water. On the eastern side of the cavern is one of these exca-
\ath.nswhi,.h is ^ "^tlic axis

The floor ( ,f the cave before bein- disturbed by the work of ex-
ploration consisted of a bed of fragments of ro.-k. fallen from the

sition of the gneiss, from the dun- of jaguars, bats and other ail-

ments of these nests, sometimes three feet or more in diameter."

The cavern measures approximately seventy-live feet in length,
twenty-five in breadth at the mouth, forty-two feet in greatest
breadth and twelve feet more or less in height. The gneiss in
which it is excavated consists of distinct, thin, alternating bands
of which some are made up principally of a very black mica
in small crystals. Others are, for the most part, composed of
little grains of silica with but little feldspar, while yet others con-
sist of a mixture of quartz and feldspar rather coarsely crystal-
lized. It is noteworthy that the rock contains no garnets. The
beds are inclined to the south-southeastward at an angle of
40°-45°±, and are full of small, but sharp plications, which,
together with the alternation of the white and black bands, give

an exceedingly beautiful appearance. The second cavern is in
this respect perhaps even more noteworthy than the first.

208 TIIE INDIAN CEMETERY OF THE GRUTA DAS MUMIAS.

Examining the surface of the rock in the interior of the grot-
tos it will be seen that the gneiss is suffering a very rapid decom-
position, and is scaling off in thin flakes, which are sometimes so
soft as to break up readily between the fingers.

As the gneiss is very compact and had originally but few frac-
tures, and as the decomposition progresses from the outside
inwards, the rock of course decomposes concentrically, giving rise
to more or less regular, concave surfaces. The surface of the
rock inside the cavern is constantly damp, but not sufficiently wet
to drip. I suppose that this dampness is for the greater part
caused by the soaking through the solid rock of water from above,
and that the decomposition is caused mainly by the action of car-
bonic acid derived from the air.

Large caverns like that just described are rarely encountered in
the gneiss of Brazil, but small ones abound and may be seen in
the precipices of the gneiss hills of the vicinity of Rio.

It is somewhat difficult to determine just how the caverns of
the Morro de Diogo Velho at first originated, but it is very likely
that they commenced by the decomposition of an isolated mass in
the gneiss, that had a somewhat different mineralogical composi-
tion than that of the rest of the rock. Ordinarily, cavities of this
kind soon disappear from the surface of a cliff, because of the
scaling off of the thick, half decomposed sheet, which falls from
time to time, leaving a new surface exposed. It is not at all as-
tonishing that the decomposition should go on irregularly and that
the cavity should enlarge itself in some parts more rapidly than in
others, giving rise to the pot-hole-like excavations above described.
A very slight difference in the hardness of the rock, or in the
amount of moisture, would be sufficient to determine the more
rapid decomposition of a certain part of the surface, giving rise
to a hollow. On the Rio Tapajos the edges of the beds of coal-
measure limestone, exposed to the action of the waters of the
[garap6 de Bomjardim, during the rainy season, are not dis-
solved away evenly, but are honeycombed with grottos. Witness
also the way in which metals and other substances are honey-
combed by acids.

The upper grottos of the Morro de Diogo Velho are like the
lower caverns, but smaller. I shall not describe them particu-
larly, because archseologically they do not appear to be of interest,

THE INDIAN CEMETERY OF THE GRUTA DAS MTJMIAS. 209

since they have afforded no human remains. All the caverns, con-
trary to the opinion of many, are natural excavations, and offer
no signs of being, even in part, the work of man.

The lower and larger cavern is perfectly visible from the low-
lands to the north, but as it is quite difficult of access, it does not
appear to have been visited by civilized persons until, in 1871,
Sr. Antunes, the administrator of the plantation, succeeded with
much difficulty in reaching it. He, however, saw nothing of the
archaeological treasures it contained, and their discovery remained
to be made by Dr. Manoel Bazilio Furtado, a gentleman, who,
much interested in the study of antiquities, has already made ex-
plorations of a sepulchral cavern, and of a rock shelter on the
head waters of the Rio Itapemerim, an account of which he has
promised to furnish me.

As soon as Dr. Bazilio knew of the existence of the caverns of
the Morro de Diogo Velho, he visited and examined them, finding
human remains in the larger one, thus proving it to be an ancient
Indian burial-place. Several other visits were made to the cave,
not only by Dr. Bazilio, but also by the Conselheiro Diogo Velho,
and by Dr. Rozendo Muniz. About three months ago, Sr. Diogo
Velho invited Dr. Ladislau Netto, the well-known Director of the
Museu Nacional of Rio, to visit and examine the locality, and to
facilitate the exploration he caused roads to be cut and steps and
ladders to be constructed.

Dr. Netto had the kindness to invite me to accompany him, and
was so good as to delay the excursion until I could find time to
go with him. On the 6th of December, we left Rio in company
with Sr. Albuquerque, one of the assistants of the Museum, and
M. Glaziou, the Director of the Passeio Publico of Rio, and a
man who has probably done more than any one else in the way of
actual botanical exploration in Brazil. As my task in this paper
is simply to give an account of the scientific results of our explo-
rations, I shall attempt no description of our most interesting
journey to the Fazenda of Fortaleza, and I shall be obliged to
limit myself to saying that we were overwhelmed with kindfless$s ,
and attentions by the hospitable Conselheiro and his friends.
Dr. Diogo Velho placed at the disposition of Dr. Netto more than
twenty slaves, under the superintendence of Sr. Antunes, and,
accompanied by his associates Dr. Machado and Dr. Bazilio, he
assisted us personally in the work of exploration.

In the following paper I will give not only the results of my
own personal observations, but also the facts relating to the pre-
vious explorations, which were furnished me by Dr. Bazilio and
Sr. Antunes, and of which my notes were written in the cavern
with the greatest care, being afterwards revised by these gentle-
men. Dr. Netto has very kindly permitted me to examine the
objects sent to the Museu Nacional, so that in this paper I shall
be able to give a very complete account of the interments found
in it. A detailed description of the human remains themselves I
am obliged to defer to another occasion.

As the preliminary excavations in different parts of the cavern
offered us no results, we found it necessary to proceed more sys-
tematically. We first of all threw out all the large stone and
rock masses that encumbered the cavern, amounting to many tons.
A line of negroes was then formed across the mouth of the
cavern, and the loose earth was examined to a considerable depth
from one end of the cave to the other, the work occupying the
greater part of two days.

On the first day nothing was found, but very early on the next
morning two interments were discovered, one of a child buried in
an earthen pot, the other of a young person wrapped up in a ham-
mock, and shortly afterwards there was found the body of a little
child enveloped in bast and palm straw. This was the last object
discovered.

The following plan (Fig. 74) represents the floor of the cavern
and the localities of the various interments, which are numbered
as in the following description.

No. 1. Body of a child buried in a well-woven little basket,
above which were laid several pieces of bark. Found by Sr.
Antunes.

No. 2. Mummied body of a woman with a little child in her

not yet been received, so that I cannot describe them.

No. 3. Skeleton wrapped up in bast, but concerning which I
could obtain no certain information.

No. 4. Skeleton of a man (?) found wrapped up in bast and af-
terward in palm straw. It was found sometime before our visit,
and had been unwrapped, the bones having, however, been left in
the cave. The skull is remarkable for a perforation near the
crown, apparently the result of a wound. The remains were to

be sent to the Museum, but not having arrived at time of writing,
I have not been able to examine them closely.

No. 5. Bones of a child buried in an earthen vessel, and dis-
covered during our exploration.

The upper part of the yga^dba was wanting, together with a
large part of the bones, including the skull, and the remaining
parts of the vessel were broken, the fragments however remaining
in situ. The pot was ovoidal in shape, the lower part resembling
the tapering end of an egg. It was not at all flattened, and con-
sequently the vessel could be kept upright only by being set in
the ground or supported in some way. The material of which it
was constructed was clay mixed with somewhat coarse sand. The
vessel appears to have been made over a mould ; indeed it would
have been difficult to build it up in any other way. The inside is
slightly rough, showing no signs of having been smoothed by a
finishing tool, whose marks are however clearly observable on
the outside surface. No signs of paint, of varnish, or of deco-
ration of any kind, were observed on the parts of the vessel pre-

The burning was- incomplete, and for about one-third of the
thickness from each surface, the clay of the walls is well reddened,
the interior remaining of a grayish color. In the pot were found
the following bones belonging to the skeleton of a young person :
— The femur, tibia and fibula of one leg, united by the dried lig-
aments and with parts of the muscles preserved, the knee being
flexed, showing that probably the body was buried with the knees
doubled up against the breast. There were also the united bones
of a fore arm, a scapula, a hand, six dorsal vertebrae, four ribs of
the left side united, and in addition six ribs, separated. The rest
of the bones were wanting, and I doubt whether they existed in
the vessel when it was found by the negroes, for I searched care-
fully in the earth thrown from the spot, but could find nothing.
It seems therefore probable that at some previous time the grave
had been disturbed, perhaps by some wild beast. The bones were
found mingled with a light earth which appeared to be mainly com-
posed of organic matter, and to be full of the skins of the larva?
of the insects that attacked the body.

In the same earth were also found a number of seeds, which M.
Glaziou identified as belonging to a species of Anona or custard
apple. There were also found numerous fragments of the pinnules

of a species of palm which the same botanist recognized as Geono-
ma pinnatifida. It is probable that the body was wrapped in this
palm straw before being deposited in the ygaqaba. The fragments
of the vessel and the bones were destined for the Museu National.

No. 6. Remains of a child from seven to ten years of age,
found wrapped in a hammock, and discovered on the second day
of our exploration. I assisted in their disinterment, and exam-
ined attentively their disposition in the grave.

The body, which is now in part reduced to the state of a mummy,
was doubled up with the knees against the breast, and then wound
about with the hammock, having exposed the upper part of the
head and the feet which last protruded through the hammock.
The bundle when found was oval and flattened, and about two feet
long. The head was turned toward the left and the body, perhaps
owing to the pressure of the superincumbent earth, rested on the
left side. The feet were directed towards the mouth of the cavern.
The grave was not more than eighteen inches or two feet deep.

The soft parts of the body had for the most part disappeared,
but there still remained a part of the scalp with a few hairs and
the skin of the trunk which was dry like parchment.

I have not yet been able to examine carefully the hammock, but
it appears to be constructed like that which was found wrapped
about the woman in the interment No. 11. It is however made of
the fibres of a palm, Astrocaryum tucum, and not of cotton.

Underneath the hammock adhered what seemed to be frag-
ments of large leaves, that had been laid in the bottom of the
grave before the body was deposited. By the side of the ham-
mock there were also found fragments of palm straw, which made
me suspect that outside of the hammock was a wrapping of this
material. Above the body in the grave, were found a few little
sticks which were disarranged in digging. The body was cov-
ered simply with earth and stones. The body, still wrapped in the
hammock, will be preserved in the Museu National.

Nos. 7, 8, 9, 10. Four ygagdbas buried in a line transverse to
the grotto. They were extracted before our exploration, and are
said to have been sent to the private museum of His Majesty mo
Emperor, but they have not yet arrived there. The fourth, No.
10, was broken in extraction, and I saw fragments in the hands of
Sri Antunes at the Fazenda. Dr. Bazilio has furnished me with
some important notes on each of the four interments.

THE INDIAlf CEMElERY OP THE GRUTA DAS MUMIAS. 21 3

The ygaqabas were all ovoidal in form, without base, and were
buried upright. The mouth of each was closed by a round, thick
piece of the bark of the Jequitibd, set into the orifice. Outside,
the urns were covered with a sort of basket-work of the bast of
the Embauba t'rnga, a species of Cecropia, and to this was attached
a cord extending across the mouth to serve as a handle, the shape
of the ygagdbas rendering it necessary to provide means of this
kind for their conduction. It is worthy of note that all the urns
are small and contain only the bones of children.

Over the mouth of No. 8 was found a small basket a little more
than eight inches in diameter and made of cipo tinga a kind of
Uiana, which had been split, carefully prepared and woven in an
open manner, the basket being furnished with a cord across the
mouth, to serve as a handle. It contained a number of little
bundles of palm straw, similar to those that form the outside cov-
ering of the body in No. 12. The basket was crushed flat by the
weight of the earth and stones. By the side of the same ygagdba
was found interred a bundle of five sticks, bound near each end
by a bit of cipo. These sticks were of about the thickness of a
finger and four were about three feet in length, the fifth was some-
what shorter. They were all sharp at one extremity and blunt
and polished at the other. My friend Dr. Muniz Barretto, who
was present when the pot was found, tells me that it contained
the skeleton of a child wrapped up in bast and palm straw, form- ,
ing a bundle which was afterward tied up with a cord of the palm
fibre.

By the side of No. 9, and in part bent over the mouth of the
pot, was found a "bornal de ca<ja" or a sort of small haversack,
woven in an open manner of palm fibre thread, and furnished
with a long cord by which it might be carried like a game bag.
According to the description of Dr. Bazilio this " bornal " was of
exactly the same shape as the sacks used at present, not only by
the Botocudos but also by many other Indian tribes of Brazil.
The sack was full of little bundles of palm straw, similar to those
found in the basket accompanying No. 8.

The ygacdba, No. 10, broken in extraction, contained the bones
of a child of about twelve years of age and which had already
finished its first dentition. The vessel of which Sr. Antunes
showed me fragments, was of the form of an egg truncated at the
larger end. The mouth was large and entirely without lip. The

interior of the vessel showed the casts of strife on the mould.
The exterior surface was moderately well worked down, showing,
however, long, hard marks of the finishing tool. There were no
signs either of ornament or of glazing.

The four ygagdbas were separated one from the other by little
sticks, which circumstance makes me suspect that they were all
deposited together.

On the surface of the ground near the pots, but in a position
which I am unable to indicate on the plan, was found the body of
a child probably wrapped up in bast.

No. 11. Mummied bodies of a mother and new-born child,
wrapped in the same hammock. These most interesting speci-
mens are preserved in the Museu Nacional where I have had an
opportunity of examining them. The body of the woman is a nat-
ural mummy, simply preserved in a half decomposed and dry
state. The skin remains on nearly the whole body, and, so per-
fect is the state of preservation, that the lower lip remains, and
the feet are simply shrivelled up. The body reclines somewhat on
the left side. The head is turned to the left. The left hand was
placed on the breast and the right was held just above the abdo-
men. The legs, partially drawn up, are bent over to the left.
The body bears no ornament.

By the left side of the corpse was found a little bundle con-
taining the dried-up, natural mummy of a new-born babe, much
doubled up and wrinkled and but little discolored. The skin is
well preserved. The left arm bears a sort of band of woven
string, and on one leg is a string of beads made of rather wide
sections of a hollow bone strung on a coarse thread, a touch-
ing evidence of tenderness. The body was wrapped up in bast,
and tied outside with a coarse string which passed through the
fingers of the right hand of the woman, who in death was thus
closely united to her offspring. It is very probable that the wo-
man died in childbirth, but this is a question in medical juris-
prudence which I am not competent to decide. Both mother and
child were buried in the same hammock, which is in a fair Btatfl
of preservation and accompanies the body in the museum, but, as
it has been removed from the mummies, it is not possible to de-
termine the manner in which it was wound about them. The ham-
mock consists of rather coarse cotton thread, and is constructed
like that in which the body of the young person, No. 6, is en-

wrapped. It consists of threads parallel to one another and con-
siderably spaced, united together at intervals of a foot or more by
transverse threads. At the two extremities of the hammock, the
threads appear to be simply gathered together for the atti
of a stout cord for suspension.

In the manner of weaving, or rather in the arrangement of the
threads, the hammocks of the cavern of the Morro de Diogo Velho
bear a close resemblance to that represented in one of Lery's
woodcuts, 2 but the form is different. Lery says that the Brazilian
Indians made their ims of cotton thread, sometimes like a net,
sometimes woven into a close cloth. Both Lery and Stade call the
hammock ini or innt, a word which I have sought in vain in Tupi
dictionaries, and which does not occur to-day in Lingoa geral.

On the Amazonas the name for hammock is kygdna (ky$aba,
old Tupl), a word which seems to have been derived from ker
dormir (to sleep) and the termination qaba or fana, which indicates
the instrument with which anything is done. In the language of
the Mundurucus I have found ulu and in that of the Maues yly
meaning hammock, both of which forms may well have been de-
rived from the same source as ini, as the three languages above
enumerated belong to the same family.

Underneath the bundle formed by the two bodies were laid side
by side a number of broad strips of coarse bark.

Over the bodies was deposited npside down a basket, well made
and full of little bundles of palm straw, each with a knot. Over
this were laid side by side strips of coarse bark, like those under-
neath the body, the whole being covered with earth.

In the same grave was found a " bornal " similar to that already
described, but in a bad state of preservation.

No. 12. Bundle containing the remains of a little child, found
buried at a slight depth and extracted in my presence. The body
was well wrapped in the first pi ace in strips of bast forming a
little bundle scarcely eighteen inches long, a foot and a half broad
and about four inches high. This package was then loosely cov-
ered on the outside with palm straw, which was tied up in a number
of little bundles like those found in the baskets, and the "bornal "
already described. The body was deposited immediately upon a
flat stone, and over it were placed, side by side, four flat pieces of
bark, about two feet long and two inches wide, forming a sort of

protecting covering. The bast, palm straw, and bark are all well
preserved but the package has not been opened.

I examined the cavern carefully everywhere for objects of stone,
fireplaces, etc., but found no sign that it had ever been either a
dwelling or that it was a place much resorted to. Sr. Antunes
found on the floor of the cavern a fire brand and a long split stick
which he thought might have been used to collect water, but both
these objects may be very recent. In the spot marked 13 a sharp-
ened stick was found buried. I have not seen it, but Dr. Bazilio
thought it to be an arrow.

The observations made in the Grata das Mumias show that the
cavern is a natural excavation which has served as a cemetery to
savage Indians. So far as the mode of burial and the preserva-
tion of the bodies are concerned it offers nothing very novel, but
as an archaeological locality carefully explored it is of much im-
portance.

The Gruta das Mumias is not the only cave in Brazil in which
Indian interments have been found. Dr. Bazilio found a large
number of skeletons in a cave near the head waters of the Itape-
merim. A similar excavation is reported to exist near Macahe,
and yet another containing mummied bodies and urns in the Serra
dos Dois Irmaos, near the head waters of the Rio Parahyba do
Norte. My friend, Sr. D. S. Ferreira Penna, discovered another in
Brazilian Guyana, in which was found the portrait urn I described
and figured some time ago in the American Naturalist. Every
one will remember the cave of the Atures on the Orinoco visited
by Humboldt.

The burial of the dead in the hammock has been described over
and over again by writers on the Brazilian Indians, and the same
custom is still in force to-day among many tribes, but I do not re-
member having met with a description of the mode of wrapping
the body in strips of bast and in palm straw.

Urn burial was practised by many ancient Brazilian tribes, and
is still in use to-day in many parts of the country.

Two Tupi names are applied to the burial urn in Brazil, yga$aba
and camut't or camutim. The former simply means a vessel to
hold water, the latter a pot of any kind. It is a great mistake to
suppose that either name belongs exclusively to the burial vase.

Ordinarily the vessel is not made on purpose for the body, but
one of the larger earthen pots for water, or for brewing cauim is

used. It is safe to say that when the corpse is to be buried im-
mediately the vase is not made on purpose. It takes time to
make and ornament an earthen vessel, and true burial vases in
Brazil will usually be found to contain only the cleaned bones of
the dead. Those of Maraj6 are often made with the greatest care
and most elaborately ornamented. I have already called atten-
tion to the facts that they are often true gesichtsurnem, wonderfully
resembling those of the old world, about which so much has of
late years been written by German archaeologists.

As to the antiquity of the interments in the Gruta das Mumias,
nothing whatever can be at present determined. At first sight,
the state of preservation in some cases of hair of the skin of car-
tilages and dried muscles, of hammocks and bags, etc., would ap-
pear to indicate that the bodies were buried at an extremely recent
date, but it is well known that, for very many years, no savage
Indians have existed in the vicinity.

In the decomposition of a human body in a dry place, the soft
parts disappear quickly, but the skin, the cartilages and other
parts, may dry up and be preserved indefinitely. This loose ma-
terial in which the bodies were buried was extremely dry, so dry
that, though our explorations were made in the wet season and
even during heavy rains, the negroes in working raised a thick
cloud of dust, that at one time drove us from the cave. This dry
material, probably containing much saltpetre, is particularly
adapted for the preservation of organic substances. The human
remains of the cave may be many hundreds of years old.

In the present state of our knowledge of Brazilian archaeology,
it is impossible to determine the tribe to which the cemetery be-
longed. We are ignorant of the epoch of the interment and of
the history of the different tribes, that in turn have occupied the
locality. Indeed, the little information that we possess of the
aborigines last known to have existed in this part of southern
Minas is meagre in the extreme.

THE MODE OF GROWTH OF THE RADIATES.

HI. THE ACTINOZOA.

The sea anemones and coral polypes are more highly developed
than the Hydroids, since the mouth opens into a double digestive
cavity, which is supported for its whole length by the six primary
curtains or septa. The second and lower half of the cavity en-
larges greatly, and communicates with the general cavity of the
body, the upper portion being entire, tubular, and forming a sort
of throat opening into the proper digestive cavity. In the Hy-
droids, the digestive cavity, it may be remembered, is simply hol-
lowed out of the body cavity and is a more primitive affair than
that of the Actiniae.

While in the Hydroids also the ovaries hang outside the body
cavity, in the true polypes they are attached to the septa or walls
of the radiating chambers, so that the eggs, when ripe, drop down
into the body cavity, whence they pass out through the mouth, or,
as observed by Lacaze-Duthiers, in the coral polypes through the
tentacles. The chambers between the septa correspond to the
water canals, or chymiferous tubes of the Hydroids.

In the coral polypes the coral is secreted in the chambe
there are soft partitions alternating with the limestone ones. The
tentacles which surround the mouth vary greatly in number. They
are hollow, each communicating with a chamber.

The polypes are divided into (1), the Actinoids (Zoantharia)
which either secrete no limestone, as in the sea anemones, or form
a coral stock, as in the coral polypes, and have an indefinite num-
ber of tentacles, and (2), the Halcyonoids, in which the tentacles
are eight in number. Such are the sea fans (Gorgonia) and Hal-
cyonium, which does not secrete a coral stock.

Development. The life history of a polype is soon told. Natu-
ralists are indebted to the magnificent memoirs of Lacaze-Duthiers
for a full biography of not only several genera of sea anemones
{Actinia mes< ' ntfrr^ndli^muhi, I'.unndes mid Sa^ariia) but also of
the Gorgonia, Halcyonium, red coral, and the Astraeoides, a Medi-
terranean form allied to Astraea.
(218)

219

The young sea anemone develops without any metamorphosis,
directly into the adult condition. Lacaze-Duthiers could not
determine by actual sight how fecundation of the egg takes place,
or whether the egg passes through a morula stage or not, though
he infers, with every reason, that this stage, ?*. e. x the segmentation
of the egg contents, takes place in the ovary. The ovaries and
spermaries are in the Actinia? situated in the same individual : the
eggs are oval, while the spermatic cells are of the usual tailed
form. The fecundated egg in the state in which it was first seen
by Lacaze-Duthiers was oval, and surrounded Fig. 75.

by a dense coat of transparent conical spinules.
He was soon able to detect the presence of the
two primitive germinal layers, the ectoderm
and endoderm. Fig. 75 (from Metschnikoff)
illustrates the relation of the embryonal layers
in the larva of another polype which he calls
" kaliphobenartige Polypen larve ; " «, primitive
opening into the gastro-vascular cavity; b, c,
ectoderm ; d, entoderm ; e, body cavity), show- Ciliated larva of a
ing that the walls of the digestive cavity are Polype,
formed by the entoderm ; and MetschnikofFs figure shows that the
embryo polype has a greater resemblance to the embryo starfish
of the same age than the acalephs.

Two lobes next appear within the body, these subdivide into
four, eight and finally twelve primitive lobes. This stage is rep-
resented by the corresponding stage of the coral (Fig. 77, B). Not
until after the twelve primitive lobes are fully formed do the ten-
tacles begin to make their appearance. When the first twelve
tentacles have grown out, twenty-four more arise, and so on, until
with its increasing size the actinia is provided with the full number
peculiar to each species. The preceding remarks apply to Actinia
mesembryantJiemum, but Lacaze-Duthiers observed the same
changes in two species of Sagartia and in Bunodes gemmacea.

Turning now to the stony corals we will give more fully the
sequence of events in the life of a coral builder of the Mediter-
ranean, the A.stm »"<Ics c«l>jruhtris, so faithfully narrated by La-
caze-Duthiers. Fig. 76 taken from Tenney's "Manual of Zool-
ogy " illustrates this coral in various stages of expansion.

He studied this coral on the coast of Algiers, and found that
reproduction took place between the end of May and July, the

220 MODE OF GROWTH OF THE RADIATES.

young developing most actively at the end of June. Unlike Ac-
tinia, which is always hermaphrodite, this coral is rarely so, but
the polypes of different branches belong to different sexes.

As in the other polypes, including Actinia, the eggs and sper-
matic particles rupture the walls of their respective glands situ-
ated in the fleshy partitions. As in Actinia, Lacaze-Duthiers thinks
the fecundation of the egg occurs before it leaves the ovary, when
also the segmentation of the yolk must take place. Unlike the
embryo Actinia, the ciliated young of the coral, after remaining
in the digestive cavity for three or four weeks, make their way out
into the world through the tentacles. " Many times," says Lacaze-
Duthiers "have I seen the end of the tentacle break and let out

the embryo." The appearance of the embryo, when first ob-
served, was like that in Fig. 77, A, an oval, ciliated body with a
small mouth and a digestive cavity. This may be called the gas-
trula, adopting Haeckel's phraseology.

The gastrula changes into an actinoid polype in from thirty to
forty days in confinement, after exclusion from the parent, but in
nature in a less time, and it probably does not usually leave the
mother until ready to fix itself to the bottom.

Before the embryo becomes fixed and the tentacles arise, the
lime destined to form the partitions begins to be deposited in
the endoderm. Fig. 77, C, shows the twelve rudimentary septa.
These after the young actinia, or "actinula" (Allman), has be-
come stationary, finally enlarge and become joined to the external

221

walls of the coral now in course of formation (Fig. 77 C, c)
forming a groundwork or pedestal on which the actinula rests.
D represents the young polype rig. 77.

resting on the limestone pedestal.
In the experience of Lacaze-Du-

W Actinia into twelve small folds forming the bases of
;| the partitions within.

i The tentacles next arise, being the elongation of

A the chambers between the partitions, six larger and
J elevated, six smaller and depressed (Fig. 77, D).
i The definitive form of the coral polype is now as-
sumed, and in the Astraeoides it becomes a compound
polypary.

The singular floating young Edwardsia, originally
xchnactis, has been
Haicam a ai found ^ Mr - ^" Agsissiz to be the early swimming
a ""da? a stage of Edwardsia, a worm-like Actinian, which,
like Halcampa albida (Fig. 78 1 ), lives in the sand or mud, unat-
tached to any fixed object.

Kowalevsky has lately found that the Cerianthus, a gigantic
Actinia which lives in a tube in the mud at great depths, has a
free swimming early stage like Edwardsia.

The following is a summary of the changes undergone by the
polypes so far as known

1. Egg fertilized by true spermatozoa.
2 ? Morula.

22 2

3. Planula (Gastrnla).

4. Actinula, with twelve primitive tentacles.

5. Adult actinia or polype.

IV. THE CTENOPHORiE.
These beautiful animals derive their name Ctenophorse, or
"comb-bearers," from the vertical rows of comb-like paddles, situ-
ated on horizontal bands of muscles, which serve as locomotive
organs, the body not contracting and dilating as in the true jelly

than any animals of which we have yet spoken, a3 it has been
shown by the two Agassizs that they have a true digestive cavity,
passing through the body cavity, with a posterior outlet, and orig-
inating in the same manner as in the Echinoderms. From this
alimentary canal are sent off chymiferous tubes which " correspond
in every respect with the water tubes of the Echinoderms" (A.
Agassiz). The rows of paddles are intimately connected with the
chymiferous tubes, so that the movements of the body are in di-
rect relation with the act of breathing. Moreover these animals,
while in the disposition of the organs following the radiate plan
of structure, are also more truly bilateral than any of the lower
classes of radiates. The sexes are united in the same individual ;
the ovaries in Idyia are on one side of the main chymiferous tube,
and the spermaries on the other, both being brilliantly colored.

Referring the reader for farther details to Mr. A. Agassiz's "Sea
Side Studies," where these animals are described and illustrated
with sufficient detail for the general reader, we will now turn to
their mode of growth, under the guidance of the same author,
whose recent richly illustrated memoir, with others by Kowalevsky
and Fol leaves but few gaps to be filled by future observers.

Development. Agassiz states that the Ctenophoree are readily
kept in confinement, and from twelve to twenty-four hours after
they are captured lay their eggs, either singly or in strings, or,
as in Idyia, in a thick slimy mass. The CtenophoraJ of our
eastern coast spawn from late in July through August and Sep-
tember. "The young brood developed during the fall, comes to

223

the surface again the following spring as nearly full-grown Cteno-
phorse, to lay their eggs late in the summer." Fortunately the
eggs are so transparent that in some forms ( Pleurobrachia and
Bolina) the embryology can be studied, not only in the egg but
also through nearly all the earlier stages of the larva.

Selecting Pleurobrachia as an example of the mode of growth,
we find that as in Idyia the egg consists of two layers, i. e. an
inner yolk mass and an outer, thin, finely granular layer surrounded
by a transparent envelope. The inner mass acts merely as a nu-
tritive mass, while the outer is the true embryonic layer, which
builds up the body at the expense of the central nutritive mass.
No nucleus nor nucleolus has been observed by Agassiz in the
eggs of any Ctenophorae, after they are once laid, until late in the
stage of segmentation. The egg divides into four and again eight
spheres of segmentation, each of which has, like the egg, origi-
nally an outer and inner mass. In a second stage of segmentation
small cells arise which surround the original eight large cells.
From these small cells the external organs are destined to arise,
while the larger cells form a yolk mass out of which the internal
organs arise.

The embryonal layer is next formed, then the outer wall by "the
gradual encroachment of the actinal cells over the whole of the
yolk mass." Finally, the mouth (actinos-
tome) of the germ is formed, and after-
wards the digestive cavity, which results
from an invagination of the outer embry-
onic layer (ectoderm). Fig. 79 (after
Metschnikoff) represents the larva of a
Cydippe; a, primitive opening; b, gastro-
vascular cavity ; c, ectoderm ; d, endo-
derm ; e, interspace corresponding to the
body cavity of the larva of the polype. The development of the
chymiferous tubes is succeeded by that of the locomotive flappers,
eight or nine pairs in each row appearing before the young leave
the egg, and of the fringed tentacle, which attains a great length
after the young is hatched.

Finally the definitive form of the Pleurobrachia is attained
before it leaves the egg, as seen in Fig. 80 (t, tentacles ; e, eye-
speck; c, c, rows of locomotive flappers; d, digestive cavity;
greatly magnified after A. Agassiz).

Fig. 81 shows the young Plenrobrachia swimming about in
the egg just before hatching, and in Fig. 82 (after A. Agassiz),
Fig. so. we see the young after batching

■■■■■■■■^■H^BB (magnified) with nearly the same
^Rj^^MjH^^H^^I form as the adult 5 / indicates the
iJra^HI^H funnel l eatnn g to tlje anal opening, 7,
^■nRSj^Hnf^S^H the lateral tubes, and c c & &
^^■m^^^lffl^^^H of locomotive flappers. The remain-
^1 ing changes are slight, and there is
H not even a slight metamorphosis, the
body simply becoming spherical and

Young pieurobrachia .till in the in ,en S th - In Bolina and its allies,
Egg. ' as A. Agassiz states, "the morpho-

logical changes are very great, and it would indeed puzzle the
most accurate systematist to recognize in the early stages of some
of the Mnemidre the young of well known genera. We cannot
say that there is a metamorphosis in the ordinary sense of the
word, as supposed by Gegenbaur, but there certainly are remark-

able changes, such as the almost total suppression of the tentacu-
lar apparatus, the development of auricles, of lobes, with their
complicated winding chymiferous tubes, which alter radically the
appearance of the Ctenophorne at successive periods of growth,
and present between the younger and the older stages differences
usually considered as of great systematic value."

226

Echinoderras, in order I
growth.

The stomach and intestinal canal either pass straight or in a
spiral course through the body, as in the sea urchins (Fig 103) and
Holothurians (Fig. 83), and open out at the opposite end ; or, as
in the Antedon (Comatula), the anal opening is situated near the
mouth, while in the Ophiurans (Fig. 85) and Luidia and Astro-
pecten, low starfishes, the undigested food is rejected from the
mouth. In the starfishes and Holothurians, the alimentary canal
opens into five voluminous csecal appendages. These are wanting
in the Ophiurans, and there are but two in Astropecten. They
are in connection with the complicated

//v branches out into the ra * s of the star *

W W bulacra. The water fills the tubes

ual. The ovaries and testes
gland-like masses situated at

of the arms in the starfishes,
i the sea urchins. The ovaries are red or yellow, the male glands

227

whitish. In the Ophiurans the eggs and spermatozoa pass out of
the body through little holes between the plates on the under side
of the body. In those starfishes in which the alimentary canal
is a blind sac, the eggs are emptied into the body cavity ; but
how they pass out is unknown. In some starfishes they escape
through certain (interradial) plates on the back. In the Eebi-
noids they make their exit from between the ambulacra. In the
Holothurians, however, there is a duct leading from the generative
gland opening out near the mouth, between the tentacles. The
eggs are usually round, and minute ; the spermatozoa of the usual
tailed form. Fertilization takes place in the water.

Remembering that there are five well-marked divisions of
Echinoderras, i.e., Crinoidea, Ophiuroidea, Asteroidea, J?chinoid< /,

the mode of development of the respective orders.

Development of the Crinoids. While we know nothing of the
mode of development of the true Pentacrinus and Rhizocrinus,
the lineal descendants of the Crinoids of the earlier geological
ages, we have quite full information regarding the life-history of
the Antedon, which is for a part of its life stalked, and is in fact

The following account is taken (sometimes word for word) from
Professor Wyville Thompson's researches on the Antedon rosaceus
of the British coast. The ovaries open externally on the pinnules
of the arms, while there is no special opening for the spermatic
particles, and Prof. Thompson thinks they are "discharged by the
thinning away and dehiscence of the integument." The ripe eggs
hang for three or four days from the opening like a bunch of
grapes, and it is during this period that they are impregnated.
The egg then undergoes total segmentation. Fig. 86, A, represents
the egg with four nucleated cells, an early phase of the mulberry
or morula stage. After the segmentation of the yolk is finished, I as
cells become fused together into a mass of indifferent protoplasm,
with no trace of organization, but with a few fat cells in the centre.
This protoplasmic layer becomes converted into an oval embryo,
whose surface is uniformly ciliated. The mouth is formed, with
the large cilia around it, before the embryo leaves the egg. When
hatched, the larva is long, oval, and girded with four zones of cilia,
with a tuft of cilia at the end, a mouth and anal opening, and is
about -8 millimetre in length. The body cavity is formed by an

inversion of the primitive sarcode layer which seems to corres-
pond to the ectoderm.

Within a few hours or sometimes days, there- are indications of
the calcareous areolated plates forming the cup of the future cri-
noid. Soon others appear forming a sort of trellis work of plates
and gradually build up the stalk, and lastly appears the cribriform
basal plate. Fig. 86, B, c, represents the young crinoid in the
middle of the larva, whose body is somewhat compressed under the
covering glass. Next appears a hollow sheath of parallel calca-
reous rods, bound, as it were, in the centre by the calcareous
plates. This stalk (B, c) arises on one side of the digestive

Fig. SB.

cavity of the larva, and there is no connection between the body
cavity of the larva and that of the embryo crinoid.

Two or three days after the appearance of the plates of the
crinoid, the larva begins to change its form. The mouth and di-
gestive cavity disappear, not being converted into those of the
crinoid. The larva sinks to the bottom resting on a seaweed or
stone to which it finally adheres. The Pentacrinus is embedded in
the former larval body (the cilia having disappeared), now consti-
tuting a layer of sarcode conforming to the outline of the Antedon.

Meanwhile the cup of the crinoid has been forming. It then
assumes the shape of an open bell ; the mouth is formed, and five
lobes arise from the edges of the calyx. Afterwards five or more,
usually fifteen tentacles, grow out, and the young Antedon appears

229

as in Fig. 86, C (after Thompson). The walls of the stomach then
separate from the body-wall. The animal now represents the pri-
mary stage of the crinoids, that which is the permanent stage in
the Pentacrinus and its fossil allies. The Antedon, however, in
after life separates from the stalk and moves about freely.

Development of the Starfish. We will select as a type of the
mode of development of the starfishes, that of the common five
finger, Asterias (Fig. 87), as worked out with great thoroughness

Fig. 87.

M

by Mr. A. Agassiz, and given in the " Seaside Studies." The

inal memoir, through the kindness of the author, whose descrip-
tion is here freely used.

Fig. 88 shows the transparent spherical egg, enclosing the ger-
minative vesicle and dot, and Figs. 89, 90, illustrate the segment-
ation of the yolk into two and eight and more cells, enclosing a
central cavity. After this the embryo hatches and swims about as
a transparent sphere (Fig. 91). A depression (Fig. 92, ma) then
begins to appear, the body elongates, and this depression forms
an inversion of the outer wall of the body (ectoderm), constitut-
ing the body cavity (d, Fig. 93, a), being the provisional mouth-

230

opening, afterwards becoming the anal opening ; at this time, how-
ever, serving both for taking in and rejecting the food). From
the upper extremity of the digestive cavity next project two lohes
(w, w', Fig. 94, m, mouth). These separate from their attachment
and form two distinct hollow cavities («?, w 7 , Fig. 95, a, d, c, di-
gestive system ; v, vibratile chord ; m, mouth). Here begins the
true history of the young starfish, for these two cavities will de-
velop into two water-tubes, on one of which the back of the star-
fish, that is, its upper surface, covered with spines, will be devel-
oped, while on the other, the lower surface, with the suckers and

Fig. 88. Tig. 89. Fig. 90. Fig. 91.

tentacles, will arise. At a very early stage one of these water
tubes (w 1 Fig. 96) connects with a smaller tube opening outwards,
which is hereafter to be the madreporic body (6, Fig. 96). Almost
until the end of its growth, these two surfaces, as we shall see,
remain separate and form an open angle with one another ; it is
only toward the end of their development that they unite, enclos-
ing between them the internal organs, which have been built up in
the meanwhile.

"At about the same time with the development of these two
pouches, so important in the animal's future history, the digestive
cavity becomes slightly curved, bending its upper end sideways

231

till it meets the outer wall, and forms a junction with it (m, Fig.
97 ; o, digestive cavity). At this point, where the juncture takes
place, an aperture is presently formed, which is the true mouth.
The digestive sac, which has thus far served as the only internal
cavity, now contracts at certain distances, and forms three dis-
tinct, though connected cavities as in Fig. 96, viz., the oesoph-
agus leading directly from the mouth (m) to the second cavity or
stomach (d), which opens in its turn into the third cavity, the ali-
mentary canal. Meanwhile the water-tubes have been elongating
till they now surround the digestive cavity, extending on the other
side of it beyond the mouth, where they unite, thus forming a

1

Y-shaped tube, n

branches toward the other end, Fig. 98. 2

"On the surface where the mouth is formed, and very near it on
either side, two small ones arise, as v in Fig. 95 ; these are cords
consisting entirely of vibratile cilia. They are the locomotive or-
gans of the young embryo, and they gradually extend until they
respectively enclose nearly the whole of the upper and lower half
of the body, forming two large shields or plastrons (Figs. 98, 99).
The corners of these shields project, slightly at first (Fig. 98),
but elongating more and more until a number of arras are formed,
str etchi ng in various directions (Figs. 99, 100) 3 and, by their con-

"> ail tt... Ii-.ir.-; t, t.'nta-!.- ofy-un- -tarlhh ; //. i,..a.-!i..>lar A V \-.-i,Ui^> : r, Lark ,.f/
young starfish. Fig. 101, t\ odd tentacle.

235

The pluteus, a nomadic stage of the echinus, is as Mr. A.
Agassiz states " a scaffolding in which the future sea urchin plays
but a secondary part, and is composed of two open spirals, the
one to form eventually the complicated abactinal system (the in-
terambulacral and ambulacral plates), the other to form the water
system, and holding between them the digestive cavity and
other organs of the pluteus, which as yet appear to have no con-
nection whatever with the spines of the future Echinus. Yet to-
wards the end of the nomadic pluteus life a few hours are sufficient
to resorb the whole of the complicated scaffolding, which has been
the most striking feature of the Echinoderra, and it passes into

something which, it is true, we could hardly recognize as an
Echinus, yet has apparently nothing in common with its former

From this time the body of the pluteus is absorbed by the
growing sea-urchin ; the spines and suckers of the latter increasing
in size and number with age, and by the time the larval body has
disappeared the young Echinus is more like the adult than the
starfish at the same period in life. Fig. 109 (tt, tentacles; s"s"',
spines) represents the sea urchin very soon after the resorption of

In after life the young sea urchin with its few and large spines
resembles Cidaris and a number of allied forms, showing that

these genera, which appeared earlier geologically than our coram
Echinus (Fig. 103, Strongylocentrotus Drobachiensis), are lower

Development of the Holotlmroids. Of the development of

native sea cucumbers our knowledge is exceedingly fragments
and for nearly all that we do know of the mode of gro
of these animals in general, we are indebted to the els

rate researches of the distinguished J. Miiller. He figures the
earliest stage of the larval Holothurian, which he calls an "Auric-
ularia." The course of de-
velopment is much as in
the starfishes. The earliest
stage known resembles
that of the starfish repre-
sented by Fig. 93. It then
passes through a stage re-
presented by Fig. 'JO. when

a stage analogous with Fig.
98. The Auricularia when
fully grown, is cylindrical,

laria. Before it becomes
fully formed the young
Holothurian begins to
grow near the side of the

Holothur
rhe ear-lil

■idled

is gradually absorbed and the young Holothurian >trikingh re-
forms observed by Miiller, the intestine of the embryo Holothurian
could be observed twisted on itself, with the mouth surrounded by
tentacles. The only observations published on our native Holo-
thurians are those of Mr. A. Agassiz, on Cuvieria, our large red,
heavily plated sea-cucumber, which inhabits stony bottoms in deep
water. The young are of a brilliant vermilion. In the earliest
stage observed by Mr. Agassiz (Fig. 110 ?, "pupa;" g, tentacles) ;

238

the "pupa" or second form of the Auricularia is very large and
the tentacles do not project beyond the body, as they afterwards

ing Holothurian. In a succeeding stage the tentacles begin to

the oesophagus, stomach, intestine and anus are developed, and

The madreporjc body (6) has not yet been drawn within the body.

Fig. 109.

Finally, the Auricularia becomes wholly absorbed, the tentacles
are much branched and capable of retraction within the body ; the
tegument secretes limestone plates, the suckers are developed in
the ambulacral rows and the adult form is attained without import-
ant changes. Fig. 83 represents a common sea-cucumber of our

Some holothurians, as well as starfishes and ophiurans, as ob-
served by Mr. A. Agassiz, undergo their larval (i. e., Plnteus,
Brachiolaria and Auricularia) phases of development above
described without leaving the parent, in pouches held over the
mouth of the parent, making their escape in a form approaching
that of the adult.

240

on one side and three on the other, while the disk looks as if it
had been cut in two by a knife, and three new arms had then grown
out from the cut side.

Echinoderms as a rule, then, are reproduced alone by eggs and
sperm cells. After fertilization of the egg they pass through :

1 . Morula stage.

2. Gastrula stage.

3. A larval, temporary stage (Pluteus, Brachiolaria, Auricu-

4. The Eehinoderm grows from a water tube of the larva,
finally absorbing the latter, whose form is often materially
changed during the process. It thus undergoes a true metamor-
phosis, in a degree comparable with that of some insects.

EEVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

The Geological Survey ok Missouri. — We have too long de-
layed our notice of the two octavo volumes from the geological
survey of Missouri, which, though bearing the date of 1873, were
not distributed till 1874. The first of these is a collection of re-
ports from 1855 to 1871, by Messrs. Brodhead, Meek & Sbumari,
and the second, the results of the work of 1872, is devoted to tlie
iron and coal deposits of the state. Of these the former are de-
scribed by Dr. Adolph Schmidt, and the latter by Mr. Brodhead ;
in addition to which the late director, Prof. Raphael Pumpelly,has
prefixed an important chapter on the geology of the Pilot Knob
district, and its iron ores, from which, and from the copious de-
scriptions of Dr. Schmidt, we gather a pretty complete account of
this extremely curious region. Rising above the floor of horizon-
tal paheozoic deposits, the 3.1 Magnesian limestone of Swallow, a
member of a group of strata supposed to correspond to the Pots-
dam of New York, appear numerous hills of crystalline rock, de-
scribed as exposed portions of the skeleton of the eastern part of

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 241

the Ozark Mountains ; which formed an archipelago in the palaeo-
zoic sea, and are now from 300 to 700 feet above the limestone at
their base. The Pilot Knob group includes four of these, and the
Iron Mountain is another and distinct mass. All of these consist
wholly or in part of quartziferous porphyry or orthophyre, but in the
vicinity of these porphyry hills are others composed of granites,
often chloritic or hornblendic, some of them capped by the porphyry
wfiich is considered as a newer rock, and, it is suggested by Pum-
pelly may be the youngest member of the Eozoic (Archaean) rocka
of the region. He, however, adds in a note that the red granites
may be an exception to this supposed rule. These porphyries pre-
sent some considerable variations in character, but may be described
as having a fine grained compact base or matrix with conchoidal
fracture, composed of an intimate mixture of feldspar and ouartz,
in which are generally disseminated small crystalline grains of vit-
reous quartz, and crystals of pink or white feldspar, generally tri-
clinic. The colors of this rock are various shades of yellow, red r
gray, brown and black, and it is often banded in its structure,
sometimes exhibiting thin layers, occasionally with alternations
of quartz, in addition to which, according to Pumpelly, it is strat-
ified on an immense scale. Epidote, chlorite and a steatitie min-
eral occasionally occur in it, and magnetic and specular iron ores
are often disseminated through the mass. To those familiar with
the geology of our eastern coast it is only necessary to say that
these porphyries seem to be identical with those of Lynn, Saugus,
Marblehead and Newburyport, Massachusetts, which are traced
thence along the coast of Maine and New Brunswick, and are well
developed about Passamaquoddy Bay, where they occasionally
contain small deposits of iron ore. These porphyries have already
been compared by Hunt with those of Missouri and with similar
ones on the north shore of Lake Superior. As seen on the coast
of New Brunswick, they are, according to him, intimately associ-
ated and interstratified with schistose rocks, supposed to be of

At Pilot Knob, the excavations in the ore-deposit have exposed
a considerable section of the strata, which dip at a moderate angle

banded porphyry, one of these containing iron ore in grains and

24 2

in streaks. Above these lies a thin layer of clay slate, followed by
a great mass of bedded iron ore (about forty feet) divided into
two parts by a layer of a few feet of clay slate, talcose in parts.
The upper portion, which is thin-bedded and flag-like, is less pure
than the lower, containing a considerable admixture of silicious
matter, and is overlaid by about 100 feet of well-bedded conglom-
erate rock, consisting of pebbles or more or less angular fragments
of porphyry and gray quartz, in a matrix of granular iron ore, occa-
sionally with grains of quartz and a soft clayey matter. In the
lower part of this the conglomerate character is less obvious, and
it appears to be a uniform ore-bearing porphyry with thin layers of
fine conglomerate. The iron oxyd is essentially hematite or per-
oxyd, but the rock possesses a decided magnetic polarity. While
the great deposit of ore is here newer than the porphyry, and seems
to be the cement of a conglomerate made up of the ruins of this
rock, it is found in the Iron Mountain in this region', in veins in-
tersecting a clayey material, which is nothing but the porphyry de-
composed in situ. In a deeper cutting, however, the hard unaltorei I
porphyry has been met with. Prof. Pumpelly calls attention to
several curious phenomena dependent upon the decay of the crys-
talline rocks in this region. In some cases partial decomposition
of the granites has left at their outcrop great polygonal rounded
blocks, often hundreds of tons in weight. Elsewhere, the chloritic
granites for fifty feet, and probably for many times thai depth, are
completely disintegrated and decomposed. In the case of the de-
cayed porphyry of the Iron Mountain, the effect of the atmospheric
waters upon this mass, "part iron and part clay," has been to re-
move the latter, so that when the mountain wa fii t oxi lined t
exhibited a layer of from four to twenty feet or more in thickness,
of rounded masses and grains of pure compact red hematite or
specular. ore, with very little clay. This residual detritus, as re-
marked by Pumpelly, represents a great amount of porphyry de-
composed and removed since the ore-veins bear but a small pro-
portion to the whole mass of the rock. In the sediments around
the base of the mountain are large stratified accumulations of sim-
ilar detrital ore, which were washed down the slope and "concen-
trated by the waves of the Silurian ocean," thus showing the great

antiquity of this process of decay.

The ore at Cedar Hill near Pilot Knob is compact, holding
grains of limpid quartz, and has, according to Pumpelly, the as-

243

pect of a porphyry, in which the whole matrix has been replaced
by iron ore. This forms irregular masses in ordinary porphyry,
which in other localities contains iron ores highly manganesian, and
even deposits of nearly pure oxyd of manganese. Crystals of or-
thoclase, feldspar and grains of quartz, are found imbedded in a
compact manganese ore, which, according to Pumpelly, may be
supposed to have replaced the matrix, leaving the crystalline ele-
ments intact, while in other portions the replacement has been
complete, manganese-oxyd taking the place of the grains of
quartz, and the feldspar crystals. With these manganiferous por-

of pink and greenish crystalline limestone several inches in thick-
ness, interlaminated with a schistose jaspery or porphyroid rock.
To account for these various associations, Prof. Pumpelly suggests
two hypotheses, the one that the porphyry, both matrix and in-
cluded crystals, may have been replaced by oxyd of iron or of
manganese, and the other that the parent rock may have been a
limestone, parts of which were changed into ore by a similar re-
placement, " while the porphyry now surrounding the ores may be
due to a previous, contemporaneous or subsequent replacement of
the lime-carbonate by silica and silicates." The important fact is
noted that chemical analysis shows that the remaining porphyry,
intimately associated with the ore, has undergone no change, but

a great irregular vein of specular ore, more or less split tip, and
including masses of wall-rock, but accompanied by numerous
smaller veins. He supposes the ore to have been deposited in fis-
sures in the unaltered porphyry, which was further cracked and
assured by the crystallization of the ore, while this was itself sub-
sequently broken by the contraction and the decomposition of the
porphyry ; in fact, the angular fragments of ore in the latter can
scarcely be otherwise explained. The writer can, from his own
observations, bear witness to the careful statements of facts in
the case of these curious ore-deposits as given in the present vol-
ume, and affirm that the singular perplexity of the phenomena at
the Iron Mountain can seareely be bettor described or explained
than has been done by Dr. Schmidt. As regards the origin of
the ore-deposits Dr. Schmidt considers the various hypotheses of
igneous injection, of sublimation and of segregation, and rejects

ting waters. The ores at Shepherd Mountain are similar vein-
deposits, but the porphyry is here seen in an undecayed state.

As regards the very unlike deposits of Pilot Knob, Dr. Schmidt
accepts the first hypothesis of Prof. Pumpelly. and supposes that
solutions, similar to those which deposited the ore in the fissures of
the porphyries elsewhere, have here effected the conversion of the
porphyry into ore. It is, as he admits, difficult to explain in this
view, the removal of the resulting silicate of alumina, and not
less difficult to explain the removal or replacement of the quartz,
as supposed by Pumpelly. When we consider that iron oxyds are
frequent elements in gneissic and other crystalline rocks, and that
they have been directly deposited in later sedimentary formations,
it will seem to many simpler to accept the hypothesis that these
iron and manganese oxyds in the porphyries and conglomerate
beds, instead of having come from the replacement either of feld-
spar and quartz or of carbonate of lime, may have been deposited

Besides these ores associated with the Eozoic rocks, Dr. Schmidt
describes several other classes of iron-ore deposits, one of the
most interesting of which occurs in the sandstones immediately
above the 3d Magnesian limestone above named, and often fills
Miiall basins or excavations in this sandstone, nearly vertical walls
of which are seen to limit the ore-deposit. The ore in these is
stratified, and is often both overlaid and underlaid by beds of el ay.
flint and broken sandstone, and, it is suggested, may have been de-
posited in cavities produced by a subsidence of the strata into
caverns in the limestone beneath. The ore is sometimes specular
red hematite, and at other times limonite, occasionally also mag-
netite, and sometimes includes rounded masses of ferruginous lime-
stone with crystals of iron-carbonate. This association leads Dr.
Schmidt to suggest as an alternative hypothesis, that these deposits
may have been formed by the transmutation of limestone deposits
previously occupying these basins. To this class belong the ores
of the Merramec district.

In the Carboniferous series again, deposits of red hematite ore
occur in sandstone, forming nodular or concretionary masses or
regular bods. In one locality also, we have here described a large
cavern or sink in the Receptaculite limestone at the summit of the
Trenton, in which occur stratified layers of hematite and limonite,

245

with more or less heavy spar, the whole capped by a bed of crys-
talline heavy spar, including galena. The 3d Magnesias limestone
is also metalliferous, and holds in drusy cavities crystals of pyrite
and chalcopyrite. It sometimes contains more than the proportion
of magnesian carbonate required to form dolomite, a not very

The coal measures of the state, belonging chiefly to the great
western coal-fleld, and occupying an area of nearly 23,000 square
miles, are described by Mr. Brodhead with much detail. The
coal seams are generally thin, though some in the lower measures
occasionally attain four feet. Their local value is very great
from the scarcity of wood, and we are told in one place of a seam
of from ten to fourteen inches which is wrought, the coal being
sold at the mine for twenty cents a bushel. In regions where the
product commands so high a price even small seams are precious.
The coal deposits of Lincoln county in the eastern part of the
state, belong, unlike those just referred to, to the central or Illinois
field, and present the unusual character of detached basins of coal,
sometimes twenty-five feet in thickness, with little or none of the
usually accompanying strata, occupying depressions or previously
excavated basins in the Lower Carboniferous limestone. These
basins are very limited in extent, and have but a local importance.

The discussions of the various points with regard to the eco-
nomic geology of the state, the chemical investigation of its iron
ores, and the valuable appendix or investigations on the strength
□g materials, all of which show good and thorough work
alike for science and for the material advancement of the state,
would occupy too much of our space. Since the regretted resigna-
tion of Prof. Pumpelly, on account of ill health, the direction of
the survey has been confided to Mr. Brodhead, whose report for
1873, we have just received and shall soon notice. The beautiful
atlas of maps which accompanies the report of 1872 should not
pass unnoticed. These maps are from the establishment of Mr.
Julius Bien of New York, who, by the admirable style of his
work, has put all students of geology and geography under obli-
gations to him.— T. S. H.

Relation of British Will F..owi:us In>f,W— The author

246

and notes on this subject were originally prepared with the view of
encouraging in his children that love of natural history from which
he himself had derived so much happiness. A child can readily
understand the happy and clear exposition of the subject con-
tained in the pages of this most attractive book. And this is the
way natural history should be presented to children. It leads
them to take at once a lively interest in the doings of insects and
plants, and is worth far more than formal introductions to zoology,
just as one can learn more by watching the actions of a live bee or
the growth of a plant, than by the inspection of dried specimens.

Children of maturer growth will be startled and set thinking by
some of the conclusions of Sprengel, Darwin, Hermann Miiller
and our author. For example, we are told that to bees and other
insects " we owe the beauty of our gardens, the sweetness of our
fields. To them flowers are indebted for their scent and colour ;
nay, for their very existence, in its present form. Not only have
the present shape and outlines, the brilliant colours, the sweet
set nt and the honey of flowers, been gradually developed through
the unconscious selection exercised by insects ; but the very ar-
rangement of the colours, the circular bands and radiating lines,
the form, size and position of the petals, the relative situations of
the stamens and pistil, are all arranged with reference to the visits

which these visits are destined to effect." The facts tending to
substantiate these conclusions are presented by word and picture.
We are confident that books like these are destined to revolu-
tionize the study of biology in our schools.

Elements of Magnetism and Electricity.* — This compact
little manual like the "Principles of Metal Mining," is an English
reprint. It is printed with the object of aiding students to pass
" in the first class in elementary stage of the government science-
examinations." It will be a useful reprint in this country.

B OTANY,

Geographical Distribution of North American Ferns.—
An interesting paper on this subject by Mr. J. H. Redfield ap-
pears in the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. The last vol-
ume contains an excellent photograph of the late Prof. Torrey.

ZOOLOGY.

Flight of Vanessa Antiopa, Feb. 16th. — This afternoon one
of our visitors saw a butterfly fluttering in the air. In a few
moments it lit on the snow, and he, going to it, found it chilled,
and brought it to me. The specimen answers in appearance
to Vanessa Antiopa. The insect has been flying about a warm
room this afternoon.

Considering the intensity of the cold for the past six weeks,
and the fact that even to-day the thermometer has not marked
26°, and not a suspicion of dripping even on the south side of the
house, I have considered the incident worth relating to you. —
E. Lewis Sturtevant, So. Fmmiifjhnn, J/cs.s., Feb. 16, 1875.

Snails in Winter. — S. Clessin describes the habits of snails
during the winter, their burying in the ground, often in crowds, the
formation of the epiphragm, the interruption in the growth of the
shell, etc. He thinks that slugs and fresh-water snails are less
sensible to the influence of season, hiding themselves later in au-
tumn, and coming forth earlier in spring than Helix and that
young specimens are less sensible than older ones. C. B. Ver-
Kegensb (xxxi, pp. 114-130).— Zoological Record for 1872.

Filaria. in the House Fly. — Prof. Leidy has recently found
that the common house fly is afflicted by a thread worm, about a
line in length, which takes up its abode in the proboscis of the
fly. From one to three worms occurred in about one fly in five.
This parasite was first discovered in the house fly of India, by
C arte r, who described it under the name of Filaria muscat, and
suggested that it might be the source of the Guinea-worm in man.

GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY.

The Musk Sheep fossil in Silesia.— According to Ilerr F.
Romer, of Breslau, the skull of the musk sheep (Ocibos moscha-
tus), the most Arctic herbivorous mammal, lias been detected
among fossils from the Pleistocene loams of Silesia. The discov-
ery is of some interest, in consequence of the limited occurrence

\ielded its remains. — Academy.

(247)

248

A Tertiary Gar Pike in France.— It seems to be proved be-
yond doubt that a true Lepidosteus lived in the waters of the
Paris basin during the early Tertiary period. M. Paul Gervais
lias recently announced that the ganoid fish from the Paris beds,
described by Agassiz as Lepidotus Maximiliani should be referred
to Lepidosteus Suessionensis. This correction is based upon the
recent discovery of abundant fish remains, including vertebrae, at
Neaufles, near Gisors. — Academy.

Fall of Cosmic al Dust on the Earth. — It has been ascer-
tained by Nordenskiold of Stockholm, that small quantities of a
cosmical dust, foreign to our planet and containing metallic iron,
cobalt, nickel, phosphoric acid, and also a carbonaceous organic
matter, falls upon the earth along with snow or rain. — Amer.
Journ. Science.

ANTHROPOLOGY.

An Indian Mill Seen in the Museum of Nassau, New
Providence. — This important object was marked " Indian idol
or stool." An image with a human face was carved on the centre
of one end of its oval shape ; this "stool," as it was marked, was
hollowed out, increasing from its two extremities towards the cen-
tre, the carved head peering a little above the rim. It was sup-
ported by legs, was of wood, the workmanship of the extinct race
that once inhabited the island. It was in a good state of preserva-
tion, which is no doubt owing to the antiseptic qualities of the air
in the cave in which it was found, which preserved the wood, that
may be three hundred years old. Many caves have been found in
the Bahama Islands which, if they were not the dwellings of the
former Indians, must have formed their temporary shelters, as
many implements are found in them.

This supposed "stool" was nothing else than a mill ; the Indians
would not have bestowed so much labor upon a stool. It is, be-
sides, too small for that purpose. The people of the Island pos-
sessed in those days tools made of bone or stone, therefore they
would only make the articles that manufactured food or clothing,
the Islands producing no stone hard enough to be formed into a
mill. It is just the height required for a person sitting upon the
ground, is much like those made of stone, and in use by the poor

249

people and Indians of Mexico. I am convinced that this article
seen in the museum of Nassau, N. P., was used to bruise or grind
the corn, seeds of plants, dried fish, etc., used as food by the
ancient and now entirely extinct race. The female Bitting upon
the ground, takes the mill, places it between her legs ; then taking
a flat piece of very hard wood (or stone) which can be found upon
beaches, she draws it backward and forward, bringing under it
whatever is in the mill, which, by rubbing back and forth, is soon
reduced to flour, or to any consistency the animal or vegetable
substance was desired. — Edward Palmer.

MICROSCOPY.

Postal Micro-cauinet Club.— A club for the circulation and
critical study of microscopic objects has been formed, its design
and methods conforming mainly to those of the very successful
Knglish club. The following rules have been prepared for the use
of the organization, and Rev. A. B. Hervey, No. 10 North Second
St., Troy, N. Y., has consented to act as secretary until the first
regular election of officers. Applications for membership may be
made to him or to the Editors of the Naturalist.

Rules of the American Postal Micro-cabinet Club.

1 . This club shall be called the American Postal Micro-cabinet
club.

2. Its object shall be the circulation, study, and discussion of
microscopic objects.

3. Reliable persons accustomed to work with the microscope,
and able to contribute to the usefulness of the club by sending
good objects for examination, shall be eligible to membership.

4. Applications for membership may be made to the secretary,
and should be accompanied by reference to some person, prefer-
ably a member of the club or a well known microscopist, who is
acquainted with the applicant.

5. Names of applicants known to be eligible, shall be submitted
to vote by the secretary, who shall send them around through the
circuits in the letter packages. A four-fifths vote of all the mem-
bers shall be necessary to election.

6. Members elect shall be notified of their election as soon as
they can be placed in any circuit, either by the formation of new

250

circuits or by filling vacancies in old ones. They shall then, and
during the first week of every January thereafter during their con-
tinuance in the club, send to the secretary, as annual dues, the
sura of fifty cents. If this subscription should prove insufficient
to defray the expenses of the club, the secretary, with the ap-
proval of the President and managers, ninv give notice of an in-
crease to any required sum not exceeding one dollar per year.

7. The officers shall be a President, Secretary, who shall also
act as Treasurer, and two managers. They shall be elected by
ballot by a plurality of votes cast, blanks for that purpose being
sent around by the secretary in January of each year.

8. The secretary shall arrange the members in sections of
twelve members each.

9. He shall send a box capable of holding one dozen slides to
the first member of each section. Each person shall, within four
days of the date of receiving it, put in a slide, preferably one
which illustrates some new result of study or method of prepara-
tion, and mail the package, carefully directed and stamped, to the
name and address next below his own on the list of members of the
section. After completing each circuit the box shall be returned

has completed the whole circle of all the circuits, it shall be re-
turned to the first circuit again, when each member shall remove
his own slide and replace it with another, mailing the box as be-
fore to the next member.

10. Slides placed in the box must contain no writing. Written
labels should be soaked off or pasted over, and the slide desig-
nated by a number to correspond with the number of the owner in
the list of members of the section.

The slides are to be very carefully packed in the box, to which
is securely attached by a string, at a distance of two inches, a
tag bearing a postage stamp and the address of the next member
of the section. Nothing is to be placed around or upon the box
which could invite a blow from the post office stamp.

11. If any member should receive a box too much damaged to
be safely used, or containing broken or damaged slides, or not
containing the full number of slides indicated by the accom-
panying memoranda, he shall at once notify the secretary and the
member who last mailed the box.

If the loss cannot be adjusted by exchange between the owner

MICROSCOPY.

"2.31

of the slide and the person who mailed it, the damaged slide shall
be sent to the secretary who shall compensate the owner, to an
extent not exceeding one dollar for any one slide, out of any un-
appropriated funds belonging to the club. Cash on hand and in

be considered subject to this claim. Differences of opinion in re-
gard to damages shall be referred to the President, whose decision
shall be final.

12. At the same time with the box, and to the same address,
shall be invariably mailed a letter-package containing a list of
members of the section and of objects in the box, and blank
papers for memoranda, remarks, questions and answers, notices
of exchanges sought or offered, etc. ; also, at the proper times,
N oting lists for election of officers or the transaction of other busi-
ness. Everything contained in the letter-package shall be con-
sidered the property of the club, shall only be removed therefrom
by the secretary and shall be by him filed or published as may

13. The letter-package and the box of slides should accompany
each other, and any member who does not receive either one within
three days after the receipt of the other, shall promptly notify the

Notice shall always be sent by members to the secretary, one
week previously, if practicable, of any change of post-office ad-
dress, or of any absence from home which would cause more than
ten days' delay in the forwarding of any package directed to

14. The secretary shall annually submit a detailed statement
of receipts and expenditures to the managers, who shall audit the

A new Spring clamp for mounting objects. — Mr. Norman
N. Mason, of Providence, R. L, has contrived a clamp, or spring
clip, for holding the cover-glass in position, which is probably by
far the best yet made, both from the ease with which it can be
made and the facility with which it can be used. A thin plate
of sheet brass or German silver is cut to the shape of fig. 113,
and then bent into position as represented in side view by fig. 114.
The end of the glass slide is slipped under the spring tf, and rests
against the curve e. The point a, which may be protected with a

cork if preferred, rests upon the centre of the cover-glass. A
little change in the curve of one or both of the plates at e, will
give any necessary change of pressure upon the slide or the cover.
An easy way to form this clamp is to cut strips of the metal as

Fig. 113.

long as from a to /, and as wide as at c. One is then bent upon
itself at c, and hammered down flat ; it is then tiled, in a vice,
with a uniform taper to a; the spring d is then bent up and the

Fig. 114.

curve e, formed with a pair of wire-nippers, and finally the long,
straight spring turned up at right angles at b. Fig. 113 is drawn
to natural size ; fig. 114 is two-thirds natural size.

Preserving Alce. — Mr. Thomas Palmer contributes to "Sci-
ence Gossip " his method of preserving algae as microscopic spec-
imens. The seaweed is first washed in fresh water, which is left
running so as to be continually changed, until the salt is entirely
removed. It is then partially dried with blotting paper, and pre-
served in pure alcohol until wanted for mounting. For mounting
it is transferred through chloroform to balsam. This method sac-
solution of logwood.

Mounting Selected Diatoms.— F. Kitton highly compliments
slides received from Herr Weissflog, in which the selected diatoms
("not arranged in patterns, the doing which is a shameful waste
of time") are mounted on a thin cover and then inverted over a
cell consisting of a thin silver disk, of the same size as the cover,
and perforated with a small central opening, often as small as *S
inch. The object in this tiny cell is easily found, stray light is
largely cut off, and a very neat mount is produced.

MICROSCOPY.

2^3

A tinted Condensing Lens.— Prof. E. Abbe, of Jena, whose
New Illuminating Apparatus seems not very unlike the common
English "Webster Condenser" modified so as to be available in
the limited space allowed between the stage and mirror in conti-
nental microscopes, suggests the employment as a condensing
lens, when lamplight is to be employed, of a large glass globe
filled with water colored of a moderate blue tint. This is placed
between the flame and the plane mirror below the condenser, and
gives, according to the depth of color employed, a nearly white
or a decidedly blue illumination.

Wide Angled Objectives. — Having been a member of the
committee of the Memphis Microscopical Society appointed to
make certain tests of various object-glasses, it may prove of in-
terest to make public the results of our investigations.

Dr. Carpenter lays down as a fixed law the statement that "all

the superior value of objectives of moderate or even comparatively
small angle of aperture for ordinary working purposes ; the special
utility of the very wide apertures being limited to particular
classes of objects." (Carpenter, 4th ed., p. 172).

It is now claimed that this no longer holds good ; and our in-
vestigations were undertaken simply with a view to testing the

The glass we selected as the representative of the wide angles
was a "four-system" immersion ^th, of nearly 180°; the narrow

by leading Germany, France an I

and comprised both dry and net systems. Bearing in mind the
theory that the wide angles are only superior on diatoms and with
oblique illumination, we discarded diatom tests, and used only
central light.

The first slide selected was a specimen of mosquito scales, dry.
Under the T ' ff th of nearly 180°, this object was beautifully defined,
the structure of the intercostal space-. longitudinal ribs and ter-
minal spines being all sharply aid clearly shown. Even under so

esult that while not giving so good definition under low power

successively brought to bear on the same c

eye-pieces, under the high eye-piece all utterly broke down. The

sam. Here again the nearly 180" glass gave splendid results, the
definition of tin: stria; being perfect even under 1) eye-piece. The

suit as before.

These facts seem to justify the claim that the law, as laid down,
touching the general usefulness of the wide-angled glasses, is not
now correct, having obtained credence at a period when the diffi-
culties attending their construction had not been thoroughly mas-
tered ; but that such is no longer the case. I feel sure that the
advanced workers of this country already accept as true the con-
far the greater number of our microscopists still hold to the old
faith. — Albert F. Dod, Memphis, Feb., 1875.

Freezing applied to Histology. — Messrs. Key and Retzius,
while admitting the value of freezing as a means of hardening cer-
tain tissues for cutting sections, have lately called attention to the
false canals which are often formed and which not only disorgan-
ize the tissue, but might be mistaken for normal structures. At

formed may be preserved and demonstrated by hardening the

Exactly similar appearances may be observed in sections of frozen
blood or starchy or gelatinous mixtures.

Mr. Lawson Tait, of Birmingham, has found sections of tissue,
which were cut while hardened by freezing, to be full of air-bub-
bles which even the air-pump failed to remove. The contained
water had, in freezing, expelled the air it had held in solution, and
the bubbles thus produced were so entangled in the tissue as to
defy mechanical treatment. They were readily re-dissolved, how-

reccntly boiled to expel its supply of air.

Embedding in Elder Pith. — Dr. C. H. Golding Bird, in «
paper read before the Medical .Microscopical Society, advocates
elder pith as an almost universally preferable medium for embed-
ding tis>ues preparatory to cutting sections. For holding in the

255

wax method, and in far less time ; while for use in the microtome
it is preferable because of its simplicity and portability, no acces-
sory appliances being required, because it cannot revolve in the
microtome like wax, and because of the facility with which it can
be removed from the tube and readjusted in it if required. The
object, such as a piece of hardened tissue, is loosely packed in the
tube of the microtome by means of dry elder pith which, being
wetted, in about three minutes swells so as to fill up the vacant
spaces and fixes the object immovably in place. This process
which is represented as equal, in most cases, to the common
method by wax or paraffine, is invaluable for cutting sections of
leaves and the like, for which the usual embedding media are nearly
useless. Even tissues embedded in wax may be conveniently
packed in the microtome by means of pith.

NOTES.

An organization bearing the title of the « Central Ohio Scientific
Association" was formed in Urbana, Champaign Co., O., in No-
vember last, with the following officers for the present year : Pres-
ident, Rev. Theo. N. Glover ; Vice-President, P. R. Bennett, Jr. ;
Corresponding Secretary and Curator, Thos. F. Moses, M. D. ;
Recording Secretary, Wm. F. Leahy; Treasurer, J. F. Meyer.

The 22d of November, the block of granite which is designed
to cover the tomb of the naturalist Agassiz, left Interlaken for
Neuchatel. It has been taken from the rocks situated below the
glaciers of the Aar, near the hut whore A^<-\/. and his colleagues
in science explored the glaciers. — Siciss paper.

The Detroit " Scientific Association" has during the past winter
held monthly meetings. The museum of the society is tempora-
rily located in rooms. The officers for 1874-5 are G. P. Andrews,
M.D., President; and A. B. Lyons, M.D., Secretary and Cabinet
keeper. There are eight Curators.

The Geological Magazine edited by Henry Woodman, has just
completed the first volume of the second decade since its first
pul.lh-ation. This journal is of sufficient general and popular
interest to secure subscribers in this country among geologists.

>hera are Messrs. Trubner & Co., of London. Subscrip-
tions will also be taken at the Naturalists' Agency.

BOOKS BECEIVED

T IEL JED

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. IX. — MAY, 1875. -No. 5.

THE LAW OF EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT THE
SAME IN PLANTS AS IN ANIMALS.

It is a well known law in the animal kingdon, that the young or
embryonic state of the higher orders of animals, resemble the full-
grown animals of the lower orders. As examples, we have the
tadpole, which is a young frog with gills and a tail, thus resem-
bling the fishes which stand lower in the scale than the reptiles ;
and the caterpillar which has the characters of a worm, but is the
immature state of the butterfly, an animal of a higher class of
articulates. The discovery of this important law. and its applica-

rapid progress in the study of the animal kingdom; it has enabled
naturalists to determine the proper place of certain species in the
grand scale of beings, and thus to correct their systems of classi-
fication ; it has enabled geologists to decide upon the relative age

It is the purpose of this paper, to show, as briefly as possible,
that the same law of resemblance between the immature of one
order and the mature of a lower order of animals, is equally true
in the vegetal.!.- kingdom, where its study may hereafter lead to

and the more essential organs, stamens and pistils ; they hear fruit

258 EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT, SAME IN PLANTS AS ANIMALS.

with seed after their kind, which when planted, swell and become
plants again.

The stamens have at their top a sack (the anther) completely
filled with grains nicely packed, each of which proves on examina-
Fig.iis. tion to be a small sack (Fig. 115, the pollen) filled with a
viscous fluid matter, in which are floating exceedingly
small grains called fovilla. These are essential organs in
roiien. the reproductioil of the plailt? and must perform the j r
functions before the seed can be matured. We may increase and
multiply plants by layers, cuttings and budding ; but to reproduce
a new plant, the agency of the stamen, pollen and fovilla, is
needed as well as that of the seed.

Under a good microscope, this fovilla may be seen in any ripe
pollen grains, but the particles are among the most minute things
we are called upon to examine ; requiring the higher powers of
the instrument even to see them; and, what is truly wonderful,
these minute particles are found to have a proper motion of their
own. They move forward, backward or sidewisc, but never make
much progress in any direction ; the motion appears to be object-
less, not like that of an animal seeking its food. The cause of
this motion is not known; it is called molecular motion, and may
be the effect of some chemical action; but is more pro!>;d>iv due

From the bottom of ponds of stagnant water, and from springy
places, we may bring up plants so minute that no unaided human
eye has ever seen them; they consist of a single cell ; they are
the smallest and the very lowest grade of plant-life, the Desmideae ;
and yet they are full-grown plants. They never grow to be any-
thing else, they are only Desmidese and nothing more. They are
true plants and not animals, as was once supposed.

These minute, though full-grown plants, will be found actively
moving forward and backward and sidewise ; making no progress ;
appearing to have no aim, no object ; precisely like the little par-
ticles of fovilla from the pollen grains, of the highest orders of
plants.

Here then we have the first proof of the existence of the law
in the vegetable kingdom ; the wonderful motion, both of the full-
grown plant of the lowest of the vegetable race, and of the par-
ticles, which may be regarded as one of the first steps toward the
reproduction of plants of the highest type.

EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT, SAME IN PLANTS AS ANIMALS. 259

(S£\ other minute one-u
116). They are lit

Protococcus (Fig.
sontaining particles
t brilliant carmine-red, or beautiful green color. Each
cus - particle within the cell is destined to become a new plant,
and then again to give origin to others.

The analogy between these full-grown plants of an exceedingly
low grade and the pollen-grains (Fig. 115) of *a rose, standing at
or near the head of the plant kingdom, is at once apparent. They
contain particles (fovilla) destined to the same office of reproduc-
tion ; one woodcut serves to represent both.

The Botrydium (Fig. 117) may be deemed a plant only a little

high,

the scale than the Protococcus.
ingle cell, but this cell sends down a ti
often 1. ranched, extending off i

the vegetable particles and fovilla, and in
both, these minute bodies are supposed to
pass down the tube to perform their office
JJ of originating a new plant.
n Here again the full-grown Botrydium
(/ corresponds with the embryonic pollen-
Pollen tubes of the higher plants ; and we have a

Fungi are plants of a higher grade than the Al^
coccus, and the Botrydium. Instead of a single eel

260

is the figure of the mould that grows upon bread in a damp cellar.
It consists of a single stem made up of cells placed one upon the
other, and a single globular spore-case at tlie top. The spores
^ are liberated when ripe and are blown to the four quarters
lg '*?°' of the world by the wind. Wherever they alight, circum-
j) stances being favorable, — as bread in a damp cellar,—
they grow and become mould again. Compare this, which
is one of the lowest of the Fungi, with a stamen (Fig.
120) growing in one of the most perfect of flowers. It
has its filament (stem) supporting a case or sack (the
anther) filled with pollen-grains (which I compare with the
spores of the fungi) and which, when fully mature are
liberated and scattered about by the wind, or are carried
by insects. Under favorable circumstances (falling upon the
stigma) they also grow and become new plants.

These examples are sufficient for the present purpose ; they
show clearly the existence of this important law in the vegetable,
as well as in the animal kingdom. Many similar analogies might
be found throughout the whole course of vegetable life, were it
desirable to pursue the subject. We have here one more link be-
tween the two great kingdoms of organized nature, and another
proof of the unity of design of the Creator.

ON THE PHYSICAL AND GEOLOGICAL CHARACTER-
ISTICS OF THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP, AND
THE EASTERN COUNTIES OF VIRGINIA.

in North Carolina, is about forty miles long and from fifteen to
twenty-five miles wide. The earliest account of a passage through
the swamp is by Col. Byrd, who surveyed the state boundary line
in 1728. Until this time, Col. Byrd wrote in his journal "this
dreadful swamp was ever judged impassable."

About 17o5 a Scotchman named Drummond, discovered the
pond now bearing his name, and which has since been immortal-
ized by Moore as the "Lake of the Dismal Swamp."

261

In 1763, George Washington, then twenty-one years of age,
penetrated the swamp and in his own language "encompassed the
whole.'' He camped one night on the eastern border of the lake,

ing ramble before breakfast, made the interesting discovery that
the water of several very small streams ran out of, instead of into,
the lake. Washington wrote to Hugh Williamson that he had no
doubt the water was running into some of the rivers of Albe-
marle Sound. The youthful surveyor had in fact discovered the
source of Northwest River which runs into Currituck Sound.

Washington also ascertained that the surface of the lake was
nearly level with the western edge of the swamp and considerably
higher than the eastern border, or in other words that the swamp
was neither a hollow, nor a plain, but a hill-side. More careful
measurements since have shown that the surface of the lake is
twenty-one feet higher than mid-tide, and twelve feet higher than
the eastern border of the swamp.

Com. Barron and others sounded across the lake and found the
depth, in the middle, to be fifteen feet, with a bottom of swamp-
mud, covered in s6me places with white sand. The soil, if soil it
can be called, taken one foot below the surface, contains more
than !>G per cent, of organic matter. Workmen in the swamp as-
sert that they can run a pole down from ten to fifteen feet in tins
soft mud or sponge. This sponge is really a peat when taken
near the surface, and has been used as fuel. Shaded and kept
moist by the dense growth of ferns, reeds, and juniper trees, which
with their long deep roots stand firm in the trembling mud, the
annual accumulation of vegetable growth does not decay, but
gradually aids in raising the level of this growing bog. But
when the mud is thrown up in ridges by the excavations for

The trees of past centuries, buried in the swamp, as well as the
present growth are of great value for shingles, staves, and other
purposes where durability is desired.

During dry seasons extensive fires prevail, not only burning the
vegetation above the surface but the peaty soil itself, leaving

In this way the lake was probably formed. It is not to be sup-
posed that the bed of the lake was thus burned to the depth of
fifteen feet, but that at some remote time, the large area of its

bed was burned so low, that the water from succeeding rains filled

succeeding year added to the height of the banks or'relative depth
of the lake. The perpendicular banks of the lake and the charred
stumps that have been formed at the bottom, confirm this supposi-
tion. There are many proofs that the water supply of the lake is
from the rainfall on the swamp and not from springs at the
bottom. The water is remarkably pure except from vegetable
matter infused, which gives it the color of weak tea and the name
of juniper water. It is considered the best water for long sea
voyages. Contrary to popular opinion abroad, the interior of the
swamp is a very healthful locality.

Lyell briefly refers to the swamp in his "Travels in North
America," and of course sees a confirmation of his theory of coal
formations, viz. — "That ancient seams of coal were produced,
for the most part, by terrestrial plants of all sizes, not drifted, but
grovjing on the spot."

That the Great Dismal was once much greater is evident from
the deposits of peaty matter, swamp mud, and burnt stumps, be-
low from twelve to fifteen feet of clay, at the distance of several
miles from its present limits.

A specimen of charred wood was taken from a well about five
miles from the swamp, and perhaps a mile from Suffolk, Va., on

large stump, where it had grown in the midst of the black peaty
soil, and below six and one-half feet of swamp mud, two feet of
blue clay, and twelve feet of red clay. In the mud about the roots

It is well known that the southeastern part of Virginia con-
sists of two plateaus, one about eight or ten feet above the sea
and the other from twenty-five to forty feet. The well referred
to was dug near the eastern edge of the higher plateau, and the
surface of the swamp forms an inclined plane from one plateau to
the other.

This vast swamp appears to be retained above the level of the
adjacent land in a way similar to the peat-mosses of Sol way ami
Sligo, until they burst and overwhelmed the neighboring country.

as capillarity can supply and sustain the waters of the lake and
swamp above described?

THE FERTILIZATION OF CERTAIN FLOWERS
THROUGH INSECT AGENCY.

2G4

the agency of bees, whereby a cross between two closely-allied

size, quality, and profusion of the fruit are any criteria. In the
city specimens, fertilization has undoubtedly been accomplished
through wind-agency. It is extremely doubtful that bees could

with them in a compactly built city; their ore<ence being rarely
ever observed except where conveniences for nest-building and
abundance of food are met with.

Bees were also noticed by the writer to visit the female flowers
of C. ovifera, after having previously collected pollen from the
male flowers of the same vine. From this and the preceding fact,
it would seem that the pollen of a very near ally has sometimes
a prepotent influence over the plant's own pollen.

In Gray's Manual it is affirmed that C. ovifera is probably the
parent of C. pepo. That there is a close relationship subsisting
between them amounts to a settled conviction in my mind. The
perfect freedom with which C. ovifera receives the pollen of J?.
pepo, in preference to its own. is what I should expect, if the latter
has been evolved from the former, which I presume to be the case.

Supported by a trellis in front of my door, there is growing a
beautiful and thrifty vine of Wistaria Sinensis. When the season
is favorable, it is an early bloomer, throwing out its lovely purple,
pendent racemes, days in advance of its long, graceful compound
leaves. Its flowers usually appear with the various species of
Bombi, Xylocopa and Apis, and are sources of attraction to them
when other and richer sweets are absent. During the la.»t spring
my attention was attracted to these flowers, by the incessant hum

From morning until night, as long as the flowers remained,
these busy creatures were engaged. There were B. pe'ns>/lnntica,
B. rirginicus Fab. (queens.) ; Xylocnpa riryiniot (female) and Apis
rn>'lUjh-<i (worker). After watching them on many occasions for

each individual flower of many clusters. The result of my labor
from the sizes of the apertures, they were evidently the work ot the

26S

Bombi and Xylocopa ; the proboscis of the honey-bee hem- too

of honey-bees were flying from flower to flower, not a solitary in-
dividual was noticed to enter the throats of the same. Like their
larger and distant relatives, they took the shorter road. As a gen-
eral rule, the little Apis enters in front. In this instance I can only

Perceiving that the coveted material was to be had, at a great
saving of labor and time, as evidenced by the examples of Bombus
and Xylocopa, it had learned to profit thereby.

Although the purpose for which nature had created the flowers
of Wistaria seemed to be defeated, viz., the propagation of its

previous observations, yet I did not cease to give them attention

watchfulness, by witnessing an individual of Bombus pens;/! r„ „!<•<(
enter a flower. After this I had the gratification of witnessing
similar operations performed by several others.

In order that the process may be understood, it is necessary to

p«i>i/<'o)t<(ceous flowers, the corolla is perigynous ; of five irregular
petals (rarely fewer). The upper or odd petal, called the vexillum,

open is usually turned backward or spreading. The two lateral

to the two lower petals; the last are counivent and more or less
coherent by their anterior margins, forming a body named the carina
or keel which usually encloses the stamens and pistil. The sta-

which is cleft ,,n the upper side, that is. the side next to the stand-
<tr>l and the tenth or upper one separate.

From the position of the stamens and pistils in a normal flower,
the former being curved forward and overhanging the latter, it would
seem that the object to be attained is the fertilization of the flower
by its own pollen. But a knowledge of the degree of perfection

*uch opinion. The anthers have imt acquired their full develop-
ment, while the stigma is perfect, judging from the viscid secre-

267

som, and the delicious sweets which they yield are eagerly sought
after, all other luxuries are held .at a discount. Bees appear to
be very fastidious, so to speak, in their tastes ; seldom noticing
plants of inferior qualities, except as necessity demands.

the trace of one, from this second flowering is to be seen. During
repeated examinations of these secondary clusters, there was ob-
served nothing in the structure of the stamens and pistil of any
flower, to prevent self-fertilization, provided they had come to ma-
turity at the same time. There was abundance of pollen in the
anthers, and the stigmatic surface of the pistils was open and coated
with a viscid secret ion. The presence of bees and the development
of fruit in a few instances where aided by those insects, associated
with the opposite condition, to wit, the absence of bees and the
consequent absence of fruit, the flowers being ready but the bees
being unwilling, are incontrovertible evidence of the fact that bees
are essential to the fertilization of Wistaria Sinensis.

BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS IN SOUTHERN UTAH.

No. 4.

The following list comprises the collection of plants made in
the above district, in the season of 1874.

The numbers given correspond to those affixed to the distributed
sets, and referred to in the previous papers. Where no numbers

though belonging to this locality, were derived from other sources
as indicated in the text. Where no special locality is given, the
valley of the Virgen in the vicinity of St. George is to be in-
ferred. To the notes and descriptions following any particular
species furnished by other collaborators, the name of the author

lilif

eh:

ill

!!;Egs5ti£::;L,,

THE INVERTEBRATE CAVE FAUNA OF KENTUCKY
AND ADJOINING STATES.

those caves. In the autumn Mr. Putnam made a thorough explo-
ration of Mammoth Cave. These papers are accordingly based on
material collected by him, Prof. Shaler, Mr. Sanborn, Mr. Cooke,
Dr. Sloan and myself.

Mr. Emerton kindly identified and described the spiders of the
caves, and his paper and drawings accompany this article. The
Coleoptera have been identified by Dr. LeConte, the Diptera by
Baron Osten Sacken, and the only Neuropterous insect found, an
immature Psocus, has bee.n figured and identified, so far as it
could be, by Dr. Hagen.

Without at this time speaking of the physical aspects of the
caves. I may say that the life of the caverns is much more abund-
ant than I had supposed from the accounts given by others. The
spiders were found not infrequently in all the caverns mentioned
in the notes appended to Mr. Emerton's descriptions. I should
say that the spiders were equally abundant in Mammoth and Wy-
andotte caves, but they were most abundant in Weyer's. where

caves. P These are small caverns, none more than a mile in ex-
tent b t it i tertst n ? to observe that in Mammoth and Wy-
andotte caves respectively, both between five and seven or eight
miles in extent, so far as rude measurements show, there was but
a single species. The following table shows the distribution of

It will be seen that the two largest and consequently most an-
firnt caverns. Mammoth and Wj-andotte, and in which the phys-

moth, and the small caverns, i. e., Diamond and Proctor's, situated
about five miles from it. No other species occurred in these
smaller caves. The only spider found in Wyandotte Cave was the
LinypMa subterranea, which also occurred in the Carter caves,

NOTES ON SPIDERS FROM CAVES IN KENTUCKY,
VIRGINIA AND INDIANA.

LIFE HISTORIES OF THE MOLLUSCA.

291

larvae swimming about on the coast of Holland, and some by the
middle of the month had bored into the wood and .attained the
adult Teredo form, though still very small, while others in Sep-

three weeks for them to complete their metamorphosis. Verrill
states that the Teredo navalis on the coast of New England "pro-
duces its young in .May, and probably through the greater part or
all of the summer." Quatrefages says that the Teredos die during
the winter succeeding their birth.

Keferstein tells us that some lamellibranchs attain their growth

thought to live from ten to twelve years, while Tridacna gigantea
probably lives from sixty years to a century.

The time of spawning usually takes place in summer. The
edible mussel (Mytilus edulis) and different species of Venus
are found with eggs and embryos among the gills from March till
May, on the coast of Holland and France, while Pholas and Fan-
dura and most other genera breed from July until September. On
the Sicilian coast, according to Poli, My a and Solen breed early
in spring ; Pholas, Chama, Venus, Donax, Anomia, Tellina and
Maetra in summer; Mytilus edulis from October to December.

We have seen that the Lamellibranchs pass through a true

directly comparable with the veliger state of most Cephalophora.
In after life the "head" of the bivalve, i.e. the oral and preoral

the veli-er. diminishes greatly in "size and importance, becoming
finally merged with the postoral region and represented simply
by the palpi and foot, the mouth-opening being situated at or
near the extremity of the body, so that the old terra Acephala

the large and well developed head of the snails (Cephalophora)
and cuttle-fishes (Cephalopoda).
The summary of changes is usually as follows :

1. Egg fertilized by tailed spermatic particles.

2. Morula.

3. Gastrula. (Observed in a very few cases.)

4. Veliger (Cephalula). In Unio and Cyclas wholly or mostly
suppressed.

5. Adult Lamellibranch.

•203

The tooth shell, or Dentalium, is the lowest of its class, and its
life history is one of much interest. For the following facts we
are indebted to the memoir of Lacaze-Duthiers. The sexes are
distinct. It breeds from the beginning of August until the middle
of September. After fertilization by the spermatic particles, which
Lacaze-Duthiers saw penetrating into the egg, the egg undergoes
complete segmentation (A). At the end of this time the embryo
swims about by means of tufts of fine cilia (Fig. 129, B), and a
pencil of large cilia in front. It then lengthens and is provided
with seven bands of cilia, and the larva is remarkably worm-like

Fig. 129.

(C). When two days old the mantle secretes a small shell (a) at
the end of the body. The ciliated bands now approach and form
a swollen ring, or ciliated crown, the velum, as in fig. 129, D, z.
At this time the shell is median, unpaired and situated on the back
of the larva. The lobes of the foot next arise. Fig. 129, E, re-
presents the young Dentalium, after leaving the larval state, and
when thirty-five days old. The three-lobed foot protrudes from
the shell now enclosing the animal, the rudimentary tentacles
(E, d) are visible, as well as the suboesophageal nerve-ganglia
(E, j) and the digestive canal (E, /, /') and liver (/). After this,
the change into the mature form is slight.

on shells living in the Black Sea, but we have species of Calypl ra?a
and Trochus on our own coast.

Ccdyptrcm sinensis lays its eggs in pear-shaped capsules at-

of the same brood develop at the same time. Development be-
gins with the total segmentation of the yolk. After it divides
into eight cells the blastoderm forms, which consists of a single
layer of cells, the result of the subdivision of the first four spheres
of segmentation, which grow over and envelop the yolk spheres,
thus forming the two germinal layers (ectoderm and entoderm).
The cells of the outer layer multiply and form the blastoderm,
from which the skin, mantle and external organs, as well as the
walls of the mouth arise, while, as in the articulates, the aliment-
ary canal with its dependencies, the liver, etc., arise from the pe-
riphery of the yolk cells, the central mass being absorbed.

the ectoderm pushes in at a spot which becomes the ventral
side of the body. This is the primitive mouth. The anterior
part of this celiular heap is the first indication of the - head-

the larva, and is also seen in the embryo fresh-water snails (I'nl-
monata). The sides of the primitive mouth form the two - sails "

mollusks, and which was first noticed by Forskal, who wrote on
animals just a century ago. Finally, the posterior edge of the
infolding, which is also at first a little mass of cells, is the first
indication of the foot. The whole surface of the embryo is now
Fig 136 covered with cilia, and by their movement

the embryo with its fellows, rotates in its

; - ! - -

/*•-. ■ r The next change consists in the growth

■HBHHVJ and differentiation of the parts already
^K/KSKf sketched out. The germ of the foot extends
ha.-kwani-, the mouth-opening deepens and
™ becomes tube-like, the first indication of

vehger of Caiyptraa. the pharynx (Vorderdarm). The next most
important change is the presence of a layer of cells between
the outer and inner germinal layers, which is called the middle
germ layer, with cells very unlike the outer layer, from which aW
developed the muscles of the foot and head as well as the heart

207

itself. Salensky thinks that this middle layer arises from the.
outer. It appears first on the ventral side of the embryo. The
germ is now of the form indicated by Fig. 136 (ce, ectoderm;
'ce, middle layer, the yolk spheres representing the inner layer,
endoderm ; m, mouth ; v, velum ; /, foot. After Salensky ).-

The next important chapter in the life history of the Calyptra?a.
is the appearance of the mantle, which arises as a disk-like thick-
ening of the outer germ layer on the back of the embryo. In the
middle of the disk the shell grows out as a cup-like cavity which
is connected only around the edge with the mantle, but is free in

the eyes, begin as an infolding of the outer germ-layer.

Up to this time the entire body has been symmetrical. Along
the longitudinal axis of the body are the foot, the head-vesicle,
the germ of the alimentary canal, and on each side a lobe of the
velum. The alimentary canal, now further developed, begins to
curve to the left, and as the shell grows, the visceral sack, or post-
organs of sense appeared', the ears with their otolites, and the eyes
nervous system, and then'it was not the cephalic, but the ganglion
a mass of nerve cells from the

Fig. 137 (after Salensky) re-
presents the asymmetrical larva
with the shell enveloping a large
part of the body, and the velum
(v) and foot (/) well developed.
The larval head forms a third
of the whole body and is still
finely ciliated. The temporary

larval heart (h), a large Oval Veliger of Calyptr^i fhrthcr advanced.

vesicle, is situated on the right side of the back of the embryo,

erent position from that of the adult heart, which afterwards arises

times a minute. This is an entirely different organ, says Salensky,
from the pulsating vesicle or "heart" seen by Duben and Koren
in Purpura (Fig. 138, P. lapillus and egg capsules, from Verrill's

Report) and Buccinum, or the contractile vesicle found by Semper
in Ampullaria, Cypraea, Murex and Ovulum, or the dorsal vesicle
F . l38 of the Pulmonates (snails). There is,

necklace consisting of four yellowish cells, situated next to the

Meanwhile the more the posterior part of the body grows, the
larger and more spiral becomes the shell, until the helmet shape
of the adult is approached. At this stage also the gill-cavity

In a succeeding stage the foot has increased in length, the
spire of the shell has begun to topple over as it were and fall

« ardiuin l.< in- f. • u ,1 \\r>\ i. and permanent kidney and gills grow
out. The gills originate from the ectoderm. It is not until this
period that the end of the intestine and anal outlet is formed.
The provisional larval organs now begin to disappear, the ceph-

kidm-ys disappear. Of the larval visceral organs only S^&fa.
the heart remains which, though smaller, still pulsates, fjyfc^fc
It now rests under the mantle in the branchial cavity. \ " J
There are now two gill-leaves, and finally the perma-
nent heart is formed. The further changes consist in

the perfection of all these organs and the development

of the. shell into the helmet shape of the adult. Fig. Caiyptnea
139 (after Morse) represents the common Calyptrcea Stnata '
striata of our own coast. We have seen that the usual five stages
have been undergone, i.e. the egg, morula, gastrula (not so well
marked as in the pond snail, Fig. 141), veliger and adult.

The metamorphoses of Trochus represent another type of de-
velopment in the Gastropods, which illustrate points less clearly
wrought out in the Calyptraea.

The eggs of Trochus varius are very small, spherical, and laid

299

in masses of jelly on sea weeds. The morula, or mulberry mass,
forms as usual. The blastoderm arises from a few small

itive dark morula cells. The four vitelline or primitive cells,

as the blastodermic" cells. The egg now becomes flattened at
one pole and slightly pointed at the other, the latter being the

In six hours after development begins, the outer layer begins
to form, and the first organ to arise is the velum, which at first

bryo. This stage (Fig. 140, A, v, velum, after Salensky) is equiv-
alent to the trochosphere (Lankester) of the pond snail. It will
thus be seen that the development of Trochus is now very dif-
ferent from that of the Calyptrsea, where the velum, head-vesicle
and foot arise simultaneously. A little later the mouth and cosoph-
agus ri se. Salensky remarks that the Prosobranchiate Gastropods

to the observations of Lacaze-Duthiers. the velum does not arise

n < lypti i 4 .. \ « run tus uid V, u . imim md Purj ui u wl i
develop like the former mollusk, having a similar larval heart and
primitive kidneys, though the mode of development of the exter-

era of Prosobranchiate Gastropods which develop as in <
all belonging to the suborder Ctenobranchiata.

On the other hand. Paludina vivipara, tferitt'nafuviatiUs, and
certain Pteropods (Tiedemannia ncapolitana, Covolinia gibbosa)
and a Heteropod (Pterotraehea) are provided, as in Trochus. with
a ciliated crown, the first organ lying behind the primitive mouth.

"A good starting point," adds Salensky, whom we have in reality
been quoting all along, "for the comparison of the development of
Trochus and allied forms, with that of other animals, consists in
this stage (Fig. 140, A). A cursory glance at the illustration, will
convince one that this condition of the Trochus embryo is simi-
lar to the larva of some annelides. Examples of such Annelid
larva? may be seen in some Sabcllidae (e.g., Dasychone luculbnxi) or
Spio (S.fuliginosus). The latter in escaping from the egg have
a more or less oval body consisting of two layers, its only organ

a ciliated crown on the anterior part of the body. The idea of an
analogy between the Mollusca and Annelid larva has already been
suggested by Gegenbanr. Still more strongly does it follow from
these facts, that in the Annelides, as surely as in the Mollusks, the
mouth-opening, with the pharynx, arises immediately after the for-

modialely after the formation of the rudimentary pharynx arise
the characteristic organs of the two types : in the Annelides the
body segments with their appendages ; in the Mollusks the foot,
shell and two velar lobes."

Salensky then compares the development of Trochus with the
Rotifer, Brachionus, and finds some striking analogies. His facts

history of a rotifer.

In the second period of development of Trochus, the true Vel-
iger state is entered upon. The mantle and shell are formed much
F .„ uo ; as in Calyptrjea. The body is now

flattened, and the ciliated crown
projects very slightly. The shell
0) has grown considerably.

Fig. 140, B, after Salensky, repre-
sents this stage. The pharynx (d)
arises through a tube-like invagina-
tion of the outer germ-layer, behind

me behind the mbuth arises
a projection, which indicates the beginning of a foot (/). Within
the foot, as well as in the anterior part of the body, may be no-
ticed the middle germ-layer, which arises as a layer of cells be-
tween the outer and inner germ-layer.

In the following stage the form of the larva is somewhat
changed. The shell begins to unroll spirally on the under side of
the body. The velum grows more than the middle portion of the
head, and the lateral lobes become larger. The operculum also
arises on the posterior portion of the foot.

Coming now to the mode of development of the rulmonate
mollusks (fresh-water and land-snails), we find that the aquatic
forms undergo a complete metamorphosis, while in the land->n an-
there is no metamorphosis, and they are hatched in nearly the
same form as the adult.

301

The life history, particularly the earlier stages, of the common
pond snail (Limnceus stagnalis) of Europe has been worked out with
much care by Prof. Ray Lankester, his observations confirming
those of Lereboullet, Pouchet and others so far as they extended.

The eggs of Lirnmeus are deposited in June on the under side
of water-plants, in capsules enclosing one, rarely two eggs, and
surrounded by a mass of jelly. After seg-
mentation the Gastrula (Fig. 141, ra, mouth ;
ec, ectoderm ; en, endoderm) is formed, the
primitive digestive cavity or mouth result-
ing probably from an infolding of the ecto-
derm. Lankester believes that this orifice or
mouth is temporary, the mouth of the adult
being a later production. The primitive Gastrula 7r the Pond
mouth closes as the embryo enters on the ^ ™ Snail.
Veliger state, in the earliest stages of which the embryo is oval
and surrounded by a ciliated ring, much as in the larval Trochus
(Fig. 140, A). This stat. is called h } Lankester the "Trocho-

, i ■ . - : . :

hatches in about twenty days after life begins.

Professor Lankester confirms the suggestions already made hy
Gegenbaur, Morse and Salensky regarding the resemblance of the
larval mollusks to young worms. He remarks also that both the
Trochosphere and Veliger forms are "well known and character-
istic of various groups of Worms and LYhiimderms, and the hitter
is seen in its full development in the adult Rotifera, and in the
laival Gasteropoda and Pteropoda. The identity of the velum of
larval Gasteropods, with the ciliated disks of Rot ifera, seems to ad-
mit of little doubt, and it would Ik; well to have one term, r. a.,

provided with a polar tuft of long cilia.

"The cell, polyblast (morula), gastrula, trochosphere, and vel-

molluscan pedigree; they belong to its prse-molluscan history.
The foot, shell-gland, and the odontophore are organs which are

303

Development of the Cephalopods. Though the homologies of the
Cephalopoda with the Cephalophorsi, particularly the Pteropods,
are quite direct, yet the cuttlefishes differ greatly in their mode of
growth, paiticulurly in the einbryological stages. \\ hiie the work

Sepia, Sepiola, Loligo and Argonauta argo, and they agree so
well in their embryology, that the following description answers
for all. In the partial segmentation of the yolk, Ussow, as Kolli-

hirds and the turtle. It begins on one side of the yolk: a pri ni-
tive furrow arising, which is intersected at right angles by a second
furrow forming four divisions, afterwards eight, until finally a one-
layered gerininative disk (blastoderm) is formed on a portion of the
surface of the egg, on the second day after development begins.
The inner germ-layer then arises, which farther splits into two
sub-layers (the outer of which is the dermo-muscular, and the

In Loligo and Sepiola by the 7th or 8th day the germ becomes
organs, the blastoderm covers the entire yolk. The mantle be-
On the loth day the gills, funnel, arm- and anal tubercle make
their appearance, the germ of the gills arising from the dermo-

On the lltl/day the rudiments of the auditory organs, the
pharynx and salivary glands arise, as well as the anal orifice, and
on the succeeding day the auricles of the heart, the pericardium

lies and veins, with the offshoots of the latter (the so-called
kidneys), are developed from the cells of the middle lamella.

the 13th day the ink-sac develops, and the liver. The intestinal
tract originates from the primitive invagination of the outer
germ-layer (ectoderm) as in Amphioxus, Ascidia, some Coelen-

terates, the Brachiopoda, Vermes, etc. As to the mode of origin
of the nervous system, Ussow says "1 have been compelled to

hope of finding any resemblance to its cie-
tebrata, Tunicata, Annulosa and MoIIusca."
the ganglia of the Cephalopoda originate

in the peripheral ganglia of the vertebrates.
Ussow was unable to trace the origin of the
nital glands, as they <

keep his specin

Now returning to Kolliker's memoir for our
information regarding the later stages, Fig. 142,
A (m, mantle ; 6, branchial processes ; s, siphonal
processes; a, mouth; e, eyes; 1-5 rudimentary
arms, after Kolliker) represents the disk-like em-
bryo resting on the surface of the yolk ; B, a side
view of the embryo when farther advanced (>/,
yolk sack; h, head), and C the same still older,
the yolk sac still smaller, the contents having
been partially absorbed. Soon after this the
body and arms grow longer, and the aniina
moves about in its shell.

For our information regarding the still later
ative cuttle fishes we are indebted to the observa-
srriU, from whose report on the Invertebrates of

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

SO!)

agnoses of the families of Lacertilia, hence we find the Agamid
genera referred to the Iguanidae, and Opheomorus and Anguis

volume is valuable in proportion to its completeness, which the
date of the work in a measure guarantees. But with every appre-
ciation of the value of the author's species work, the absence of
systematic analysis deprives his book of the scientific merit which
would otherwise belong to it.— E. D. C.

The Distribution of Insects in New Hampshire. 1 — The author,
in this interesting essay, discusses with his characteristic thorough-
ness the relations of the fauna? (Alpine, subalpine, Canadian and
Alleo-hanian) which have their representatives in that state. It is
illustrated by a map of the state, showing the relations of the
Canadian and Alleghanian fauna?, and another of the Alpine and
subalpine regions of the White Mountains. The data are drawn
from the butterflies ami grasshoppers. We were not aware that
such excellent material existed for such a full discussion of the
subject, which will, we doubt not, greatly stimulate further studies
on the geographical distribution of insects in this country.

Principles of Metal Mining. 2 — This is a compact, clearly-
written and well illustrated little manual by a practical miner and
member of the London Geological Society. The author has
adapted it for the instruction of young miners starting in life.
We have not met with a better and briefer introduction to the art
of mining for the general reader.

BOTANY.

Fucus serratus and Fucus anceps. — I have received from
Prof. A. F. Kemp, of Knox College, Galesburg, 111., specimens of

more effectually t han could possibly be done by humble bees in
the manner sug-wto ! by voiir correspondent. Observation will
fully establish the main fact of this statement. — M. W. Yausen-
burg,_ Ft. Edward, X. Y., Apr. 10, 1875.

is an article by Mr. E.
Harv.," in which the writer states that Harvey had never published

been sent him by Mi- ( inlor 1. [,, th!- •• N, :, i. Amer. Bar.." Part
II, p. 1G2, Harvey acknowledged the receipt of Miss Gifford's
specimens, and gives a full account of the literature of this spe-
cies, which is Stchnijramina ititermpta of Montague, not of Harvey
as Mr. Holmes has it. — W. G. Farlow.

A Directory of American Botanists has appeared in the
"Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club," New York. Also de-
scription of new fungi from New Jersey, with other notes of value

Preserving Fungi. — -A good method for the preservation of

ceep well.— J. II. Ma
ork by Dr. F. Cohn oj
vox has lately appear
'an Fungi.— The Re

ZOOLOGY.

312

wading depth, generally with a little open space in the deepest
part, but mostly choked with luxuriant vegetation (Graminea?,
Utricularia, etc.). Date of collection first week in July."

The occurrence of the Apusdike form, which may be called Lep-
idurus Couesii, is of much interest, as the genus has not before
occurred on this continent south of the Arctic regions and Green-
land, where L. git <tial is occurs. Our western species, however,
more closely resembles L. productus from Europe, but differs in
the much longer telson, which is long, slender and spatulate. In
this character, and its much longer carapace it differs from L.
glacial in from Greenland. It also differs from L. product us in the
eyes being closer together and more prominent.

In the males the carapace is a little shorter, and the telson twice
as large as in the other sex, being three or four times as long
as that of L. productus. Thirty-two males and thirty-one females
occurred. This equality in the number of the sexes is noteworthy.

With these occurred a new Lymnetis with eggs. It is interme-
diate in size between L. Gouldii and L. gracilicornis, but more
spheiieal than either, li may be recognized at once by the much

be called Ltwwtix mncronnhis. Length .10 .1.". inch. — A. S.
Packard, Jr.

Artificial Hatching op Grasshoppers. — I recently noticed

thai 1 thought them worthy of public mention. I was travelling
with U. S. Troops in the southwestern part of Dacota Territory,
through a region which had been visited by the flight of grass-
hoppers of 1874. It was January and the weather intensely cold.
We generally came into camp each day at 4 p. m., when the snow

thaw. -d out the mound and heated it for some distance around.

yet (-tu n the next morning young gra^hoppcr< were seen skipping

an ungual forcing pro;v~. \\\ L. Carpenter, U. S. Army,
Camp Robinson, Neb., Jan. 17, 1875.

[It seems probable to us that the larva; of the Caloptenus
hatched in the autumn before the snow fell, as those of other and
allied grasshoppers do in JN'ew England. — Ens.]

3 1:5

Dendroica dominica in Indiana. — Dr. Coues notices in the
Naturalist for July, 1873, the occurrence of Dendroica Dominica
Baird, "so far north " as Kanawha Co., West Va., as stated by
Mr. W. D. Scott.

I shot in Indianapolis, Sept. 25, 1874, an individual of that
: • ■ ■ . ■ . '■ \ ■ i> •

, ^ . .. . ; _. : • . • v., ;.!:■; tie- y,

of the chin and maxillae narrowly bordered next the bill with

Seiurus Ludovicianus Bp. I found last year about Green Bay,
Wisconsin, in some abundance in the latter part of April. — D. S.
Jordan.

The Whistling Swan. — A fine adult specimen of the whist-
ling swan {Cu'jnm American's) was obtained on the 20th inst.,
by". James Logan, near Shclbyville, in this state. It measured
- :. ' " : i" • • • - • '

one of which, from its brown color, was evidently young. The
swan is exceedingly rare in this state, only stopping occasionally
on its way to the North. — E. S. Crosier, Louisville, A>, March

Habits of Snails. — A specimen of Helix pomatia lived for
eleven months without feeding, and slept for seventeen weeks. Its
weight was diminished by 0*13 gr., or 0-G per cent, daily. — J. V.
Sivers, C. B. Ver. Riga, (xix, p. 112), Zoological Record for 1872.

GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY.

Fossil Batrachia in Ohio.— Prof. J, S. Newberry, director of
the geological survey of Ohio has made additional collections in
the fossil-bearing coal-measures. Land vertebrate remains of that

United States, and the specimen- are noted for their >iu._ub.nty

but no reptile-, nor higher vcrlcbrata. One of the novelties is a
species of the genus Ccraterpeton, the first time a European genus
has heeu detected in this country. This form is as large as a rat,

816

opinion, be mounted so as to cut during the pulling and not dur-
ing the pushing stroke. The saw cuts sections of bone at the
rate of one in two to three minutes, which are sufficiently thin and
smooth, and only require to be washed free from sawdust to he
ready for mounting. The saw frame being thicker than the blade,
the upper part of each of the guides is set back so that the blade

plane. Bdth blade and frame are held against the guides hy steel
sin iug-. the face of the guides being also protected by hardened
steel, securing a correct path for the saw independently of the
skill of the operator. For cutting soft tissues, with a razor, the
instrument is turned so that the cutting is done in a horizontal in-
stead ol a vertu d pi in. , tin oh ct In ing irrami 1 on tin sli ling

nary work will contain a 1£ inch cube of the material to be cut,

Recent Objectives. — Mr. Charles Brooke in his President's
Annual Address before the Royal Microscopical Society, makes

in object glasses. A ••remarkably line Mb" by Powell & Leal and,

construction is not discussed, as it has not been made known by

Increased flatness of field has been obtained in objectives con-
structed on Mr. Wenham's formula, by replacing the original
single plano-convex posterior lens by two plano-convex lenses of
proportionally less curvature. Mr. Brooke possesses a |th thus

possession. It defines well with the sixth eye-piece of Ross, which

in certain c:i<cs beeau>e of increasing not in the simple ratio ot
such surfaces, but in proportion to the square of that number, as
if an objective with lour cemented surfaces should have four times

319

Acting-Governor Van Zandt has appointed George H. Wilson

scientific survey of the State of Rhode 1 Island, in place°of Hon.
_ Rowland Hazard, declined.

Prof. M. Foster and A. G. Dew-Smith lately read a paper
before the Royal Society "On the behavior of the hearts of mol-

Prof. Asa Gray, at a meeting of the French Academy held
on the 10th March, was elected an honorary member in the depart-
ment of science.

Just as we are going to press, we learn that the bill for the
scientific survey of Massachusetts failed to pass the House, but
the vote (nearly a tie vote) in its favor was so large as to indicate

The movement in Ma-a. hu^ IN ha> extended to Connecticut and
Rhode Island, while the recently published report of Prof. Hitch-
cock, as state geologist of New Hampshire, is a credit to that state.
We look confidently to the institution, within the next year or two,
of resurveys of nearly all the New England states.

It seems that our paragraph taken from a Swiss paper rc-anling
the block of granite designed to cover the grave of Agassiz, con-
tained some errors. The bowlder in reality came from the terminal
moraine. Judging from its position when removed, it must have
formed part of the median moraine, and have been about 7,000
feet higher up where Agassiz lived on the Aar glacier. It prob-
ably came originally from the "Abschwung."

The University of Wisconsin at Ann Arbor has received an
appropriation of $80,000 from the legislature for building a Sci-
ence Hall.

We have received from Mr. C. F. Dennet an interesting pam-
phlet entitled "Vegetable Fishes," with special reference to the

CAVE SPIDERS OF KENTUCKY. ETC.

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. IX. -JUNE, 1875. -No. 6.

THE POTTERY OF THE MOUND BUILDERS.

By the courtesy of the Trustees of the Peabody Museum of
American Archeology anil Ethnology, Cambridge, we ore able to
give the following account of the very interesting collection of
articles, principally of pottery, from mounds in Missouri, forming
the Swallow Collection which was secured by the Museum last *
year, and now recorded in the Eighth Annual Report of the
Trustees made to the President and Fellows of Harvard College.

On the decease of Professor Wyman, the late Curator of the

charge of Professor Gray, as temporary Curator, who requested
Mr. Putnam to write a report on the acccessious to the Mum-uhi

Iressed by him to Professor Gray.
To enable a ready comparison to be made with the several

3:22

together with the following abstract from the manuscript by

"We opened these mounds in December, 1856, and the fol-
lowing month. There were present, assisting with their servants
and teams, Messrs. S. R. Phillips, John Martin, M.D., Clayton
Lee, John Jackson, M. Jackson, Elijah Horrel, Dr. Case, Daniel
Fulton, A. E. Sheelds of New Madrid, Missouri, and Geo.
Northcutt of Columbia and some others.

"We cut a passage six feet wide entirely through the "Big
Mound" from side to side and from top to bottom, laying open

"This mound is in Lewis' Prairie, west of New Madrid. It is
elliptical in form, 900 feet in periphery at the base, 570 feet at the
top which is nearly level and about 20 feet above the surround-
ing country. This is the wide bottom of New Madrid county
some 60 miles long and 30 to 40 wide, and is known us the
swamp country. This was the country effected by the New
Madrid earthquake of 1811.

"A room seems to have been built by putting up poles (like raft-
ers in the roof of a house) ; on these rafters were placed split cane
(Arundinaria macrosperma) ; plaster, made of the marls of the
blurt formation, was then applied above and below so as to form
a solid mass, inclosing the rafters and lathing of cane, and this held
all in place ; over this room was built the earth work of the
was completed the room was in its centre.

The earth wo

the plaster.

ture formed a soil.

"This mud plastering was left rough on the outside of the room,
but smooth on the inside which was painted with red ochre.
(One of the pots found had been used as a paint pot).

"Some of the plastering was burned hard as brick, but other
parts were only sun dried, as shown by the pieces sent.

"Some of the rafters and cane lathes were found decayed, some
burned to coal and others all rotted but the bark. Some of the
rafters were, probably, of cypress, and others, of elm. This inner
plastering was found flat on the floor of the room as it had fallen
in, and under it were the bones and pots, the latter including
one that contained a human skull, which we found at one side.
This vessel was first hit fa

resting place, the skull within was not broken and could not be
taken out without breaking it or the pot, a fact which attracted
much comment at the time. I remember one remark of Mr.
Phillips.-- "The pot was made over the person's head as a pun-
ishment." The pot 1 and skull were afterwards broken by an acci-
dent to the box in which it was packed.

"All the articles in this mound were well preserved as the plas-
tering protected them from the elements."

The character of the articles found in the "Big Mound"
mentioned in the foregoing account by Prof. Swallow, will be un-
derstood from the following short descriptions and accompanying
illustrations. The woodcuts, though rather roughly executed! are
generally quite characteristic of the articles represented. The
numbers used in the descriptions and to designate the figures are
those under which the articles are entered in the Museum Catalogue.

The clay in some of the vessels has been mixed with more or
less finely pounded shells, probably of fresh water muscles. In
other instances the pounded shell has not been used, but fragments
of charcoal are to be traced, indicating that either charcoal itself
was used to temper the clay, or else, which is more likely, that
some vegetable substance was mixed with the clay, which, in burn-
ing the vessels, was reduced to charcoal. In a few of the speci-
mens sand was mixed with the clay, and in several, the clay was
apparently without any mixture. These last are generally thick
and rude in their finish, while those in which charcoal is now seen

vessels, as in No. 7800.

Many of the vessels from these Missouri mounds show evidence
of having been heated both on the inside and outside ; but several
appear not to have been so heated, and these are not so finely and
smoothly finished as those which have been hardened by fire.

The best finished of these vessels have the appearance, noticed
by Squier and Davis in other specimens from the mounds, of having
been carefully shaved by a sharp knife on the outside. The same
ar.uice is observable in the dark, Peruvian pottery. It is pos-
sible that this was produced by making the clay on the outside of

825

formed. The dimensions of the vase are as follows : total height
4-6 inches ; from knee to end of foot 2-5 ; from breasts to point
of back 2-5 ; from shoulder to shoulder 2-4 ; diameter of opening
in the back of the head from -6 to -7 of an inch. The very great

resemblance of this figure to a small Mexican idol in the Museum
(No. 1469) is very striking. The idol is carved in stone and
represents a woman in this same squatting posture with her hands
upon her knees. See also the figure of a man in this same posture
in Foster's Prehistoric Races of the United States, p. 240. This
last represents a water jar of the same general character as 7775
and is also from a mound in Missouri.

No. 7841. A large pipe curved from a hard sandstone and
rudely representing a frog or a toad. The design is better seen
from a side view than from the front as rep- No mu

holes are equal in depth, 2 inches. The holes rapidly narrow as
they extend inwards, being but -2 of an inch in diameter at their
union. The hole for the stem is symmetrical throughout, but

328 THE POTTERY OF THE MOUND BUILDERS.

found were used for similar purposes. Messrs. Squier and Davis, in
" Ancient Monuments of the Miss. Valley," figure a number found
in mounds and on the surface, and call attention to their enigmati-
cal character and to the fact that they have been found from Ohio
to Peru, and also in Denmark. So far as their observations go,
they regard those found in the mounds as, probably, of more recent
origin than the mounds, but those found by Prof. Swallow in the

the collection, and the very large number from the Mounds in Ten-
nessee, collected by Mr. Dunning and now in the museum, would
indicate that they belong to the mound period as well as to later
times. It is interesting in this connection to record two of these
stones found in Hartford, Connecticut, by the Rev. E. C. Bolles,
and now in the Peabody Academy of Science at Salem, and also to
refer to the specimens in the Museum from the Hawaiian Islands,
one of which, No. 2903, is labelled " Stone used in the game of
maika, Hawaiian Islands." The game played with such stones
by the Mandans is called " Tchung-kee," which Adair gives as
"Chungke." From these names and the term "Chunky-yard,"
used by Bartram in his description of the peculiar enclosure in the
Creek villages in which the game was played, these stones are
now generally called - Chunky-stones," but it is questional.!.' if this

are perforated, as the game described by Catlin requires a "ring
of stone" so that if the pole is well thrown the ring will fall upon
one of the projecting points on the pole. That those not perforated

u maika" are. to judge from the several specimens in the museum,
simple biconcave and biconvex disks, in everv respect like those
found in America. It is also very probable that some of the

/

'lie opposite surface is flat along its central portion I
re rounded. The thickness of the stone is one inch.
No. 7852. This is a beautiful, little chisel of oranj

row, and polished only at the cutting
is made by grinding from both surfaci
rately represent, these implements, whi<
one surface and roughly convex on t
the same general shape, though of con

it in its general shape than do the others. No. 7832 is an axe
of sienite, but differs from the preceding in having the groove
carried all round. It is 5-7 long by 3-4 wide and 2-2 in thick-
ness. No. 7829 is a finely carved, grooved axe, made of clay
slate. The top is flat and the surface, which came in contact
with the handle, is slightly concave, and the groove, which is
quite deep on the opposite side, fades out gradually as it ap-
proaches this side. The front of the axe is also slightly on-
™ve, and at the same time has a curved out lino froin its top to

is beautiful from its perfect symmetry and finish, is 6 inches
in length 3-5 in greatest width just below the groove, and 2-5 in
thickness. The groove is from -8 to -9 of an inch in width. The
cutting edge is 2-5 in length. No. 7833, which is specially marked
as having been found on the surface in Boone Co., is of a very
unusual shape and may possibly be an unfinished implement. It
is of sienite, 7-1 inches long, 3-7 wide across its upper third. 2-4
along its cutting edge, its greatest thickness 2-5. The top of the
axe is flat ; sides bulging ; front and back edges grooved and
convex in out line, I be front < 4 the axe being the most arched.

2- 5 wide, and of the usual iunn <,f the>e small, or hand celts, as
they are often called.

No. 7861 is a small implement of sandstone, of about the size
of the last, but more triangular and with a deep groove, as if for
the ball of the thumb in holding the implement in the hand.

articles of ornament are made of. Tins block is 2-8 inches by

3- 3, and 1-2 iu thickness through the middle. It has the gen-
eral appearance of a block roughly put in shape for the final pur-
pose of making a "gorget."

Nos. 785G, 7857, and 7859 are pieces of sandstone evidently

333

"A smaller mound, 418 feet east of the south end of the Big
Mound, was examined." This mound was nearly circular, SCO feet
in circumference, 14 feet high, 8 feet above the present surface of
the country, as 6 feet of stratified sands and clays have been de-
posited on the bottom since the mound was formed. In this mound
were found ashes, shells, charcoal, fragments of bones and pots.
Nothing of any great value.

" In Township 23, Range 15 East and Sec. 26, and about 6 miles
E. N. E. of New Madrid, we opened a small mound, from which we
obtained all the articles sent which are not otherwise designated.

small place on one side. This mound was circular in form.

" The pots and jars were found in a circle near the circumference,
or perhaps two-thirds of the distance from the centre of the mound
to the outer edge, and on the original ground beneath the mound.
We found the base of the mound, when the earth was carefully re-
moved, discolored with dark stains on the earth in the shape of a
human body, with head to the pot and the feet towards the centre
of the mound ; also, the position of the skeleton was marked by
traces of whitish, calcareous earth. We also found some fragments
of the enamel of teeth just within the line of the pots where the
form of the head was shown. These bodies seemed to have been
placed as closely together as possible, and a pot or jar at the head
of each. So regularly were they urranged that we could find them
by following up the circle after we had di-eo\ ured the key. There

were in this circle.

"It appeared as if the bodies had been placed in position, and

them. In the middle of the mound we found with the earth,
ashes, coal, fragments of shells (Unionidce) and broken pottery.
I found one Fusus near one of the jars iu the circle.

" Everything in this mound was greatly decomposed by time and

ornamented band over the top of the head. 7782 and 7717 have
this band represented after the same pattern, or with a central
and two side projections or bunches. 7748 has a large bunch on
the left side and a smaller and circular one on the right, while the

ears are perforated, while in all the others they are not placed quite
so low down and stand out prominently from the head. In 77o0

ABOUT STARCH.

340

is the starch from ihe Cuirhieum-conn of the druggists (Fig. 153).
Here we have a nucleus, often split into stellate shapes by drying,

may be confined to one layer of the bark, or, more abundant in
one layer than in the others. In cascarilla bark, where the middle
layer of the bark and the liber intordigitate, it is difficult to trace

343

less dense. It is often said that starch is especially formed in the
presence of chlorophyl or the green coloring matter of plants.
But we notice that it is generally deposited where there is no
chlorophyl, as in the roots, underground stems, the albumen of

rophyl present or not. When the latter is present, its tendency
to collect around the solid matters of the cell, the walls, for in-
stance, will lead it to collect about the forming starch-grain, and
thus give that grain the appearance of being embedded in chloro-
phyl. an appearance often noted.

The form and appearance of the grains differ for each species.
In nearly allied species they are much alike; in distant species,
very different. Whether in all or most cases specific characters
can be drawn from the grains is not fairly settled. It lias never
been systematically studied, so far as I know. In a few limited
cases it has been done and with success. From these it is a fair
presumption that specific differences in the grains exist, but are
hard to recognize on account of their minuteness.

The size varies much but is tolerably constant for the same spe-
cies in mature grains. The smallest measured by the writer were
only 2 tt.i in length. They were from the rhizome of Hydrastis
Canadensis L. Those measured were the largest grains. On the
other hand the grains of potato-starch sometimes reach a length
of nearly 50 tt. They are then so large that they can be distin-
guished by the naked eye. lit c i n Fig. we.

1. Bean-starch (Fig. 15G). The grab
are in the cotyledons. They are packed ^^^e«!^tS^^^

in very closely with aleurone. They are

of an ellipsoid or reniform shape, and are 30 tt. or less in length.
The rings are usually not visible, though sometimes very evident.
The nucleus is long and slit-shaped. In two of the grains figured,
smaller cracks can be seen. They are caused by heating. They
are easily seen by making a thin section of a bean or by simply

i . 1 :, _ „,'';:":; ,, »t.:" 1 " ' " -

BIOGRAPHIES OF SOME WORMS.

3.™

It should also be remembered that among the worms are many
synthetic types which, as regards some organs, remind ns of other
groups of animals. For example the Rotifers recall the lower
Crustacea, and are by some naturalists regarded as such; the
Planarians have been considered by Girard, as mollusks, the
Polyzoa and Brachiopods are still regarded as mollusks by emi-
nent naturalists, and there are very few who do not place the
Tunicates among the latter. On the other hand the Echinoderms
are regarded as worms by some, and Amphioxus has been called
a worm. Indeed if any one has any prejudices regarding fixed
types in nature, and would learn how regardless of preconceived
zoological systems the actual state of our knowledge of the lower
animals must lead one to become, let him study the animals now
placed among the " Worms."

Leaving out of consideration the lowest forms, almost without
organs, and many parasitic forms, as
are bilateral, segmented animals with t
arate or united by commissures, and resting on the floor of the
body under the alimentary canal, which usually (when present)
passes directly through the middle of the body. There is in the
Annelides a dorsal and ventral blood-vessel, the circulatory appar-
atus being closed and more highly developed than in the Crustacea
and Insects, Limulus excepted. In the lower worms (Platyel-
minths, Nematelminths, Acanthocephali and Rotatoria) there is a
complicated system of excretory tubes, thought by some anato-
mists to be analogous with the water-vascular system of Radi-

The organs of locomotion are, when present, simple bristles or
prolongations of the walls of the body forming paddle-like flaps.

We are now concerned with tracing the mode of development
of some of the typical forms belonging to the different subdivis-
ions, the general relations of which may be seen in the following
tabular view, which is taken from Gegenbaur's "Principles of
Comparative Anatomy," with the addition of the Brachiopoda,
which he still retains among the Mollusca. The Onychophora,
represented by Peripatus, are also omitted, as since the publica-
by the re-

354

I. Platyelminthes. ^

Trematoda (Distoma, Monostomuui).
Cestoda (Tsenia, Bothriocephalus).
Nemertina (Nemertes).

Nematodes (Strongylus, Ascaris).
Gordiucea (Gordius, Mermis).

III. Ch^etogn.vthi (Sagitta).

IV. Acanthocephali (Echinorhynchus) .

V. Rotatoria (Brachionus, Rotifer).

VI. Polyzoa (Alcyonella, Flustra, Lepralia).

VII. Enteropneusti (Balanoglossus).

VIII. Tunicata (Appendicularia, Ascidia, Pyrosoma, Doliolum, Salpa).

IX. Gephyrea (Sipunculus).

X. Brachiopoda (Lingula, Terebratulina).

XI. Asnulata (Himdo, Lumbricus, Nereis, Serpula).

I. PLATYELMINTHES (Flat Worms, Flukes and Tape Worms).
These are flat-bodied ciliated worms without lateral appendages,
usually with hooks or suckers. They are usually hermaphroditic.

Development of the Turbellaria. These lowest of worms, in
which there is no true stomach and intestines, but a simple short
blind digestive sac leading from the mouth and
pharynx, are known to multiply by fission, the
HHH| body dividing into two. They also possess ovaries
and male glands, and reproduce from eggs. We
!■ are not acquainted with the life-history of the
|HHH Rhabdocoelous forms, such as Vortex, Prostomum,
■BHH etc., except that we know that they produce eggs
^^Hj^H and spermatic particles. In Prostomum, an orbic-
ular form, the yolk cells are formed in a gland

IHBh ( viteii °s ene ) distinct fr ° m the true ° var >' ° r germ *

^^HSffl forming gland (germogene). As an example o
■ reproduction by fission may be cited the singular
^^^^^^ Catena quaterna Schmarda, which occurs in fresh

a ena qua ema. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ m ^ e .

sents two individuals in partial division, and a chain of four ind
viduals, natural size. This form reminds us of the

353

which the joints remain permanently attached. We know nothing
further regarding the history of Catena except that it has been
found as indicated in the figure here reproduced from Schmarda.

Among the Dendrocoela, or Planarians, and in fact in the flat
worms generally, fission takes place. If we cut the common fresh
water Planarians into several pieces, each piece will become a
perfect worm.

All the fresh water flat worms are born as infusorian-like cili-
ated bodies which attain maturity without any metamorphosis.
As an example of the mode of development of a Planarian worm,
may be given the history of Planocera eUiptica discovered by
Girard in Boston and Beverly harbors. The spawning time lasts
from the middle of May until the middle of June, the eggs being
deposited in a thin viscid band on stones and sea weeds. The
egg undergoes total segmentation in four or five days after. A
ciliated blastoderm begins to form around the yolk mass, and be-
fore the embryo leaves the egg it assumes the larval shape, being
an infusorian-like form, with a caudal flagellum. There are no
internal organs except two eye-specks.

In eight or ten days after the larva begins to revolve in the egg,
and after it has hatched, it stops swimming about and becomes
a "mummy-like body" which Girard calls a "chrysalis." In this
condition, which apparently corresponds to the encysted state of
the flukes, it floats about in the water. Here Girard's observa-
tions came to an end. Whether in this resting stage it is swal-
lowed by some other animal, and becomes a parasite before
resuming its active life, remains to be seen.

The later history of Flanaria angulata has been traced by Mr.
A. Agassiz. "On examining," he says, " a string of eggs, mistaken
at first for those of some naked mollusk, I was surprised to find
young Planariaj in different stages of growth with a ramifying
digestive cavity, somewhat similar to that of adult specimens, but
showing besides, one distinct articulation for each spur of the
digestive cavity. The eyes were well developed, and when the
young became free, the articulations were still distinct." In the
youngest specimen (Fig. 162) observed, the body was almost
cylindrical, while as seen in Fig. 163, the body has become con-
siderably flattened. The fact that before attaining maturity the
Planarian is articulated is Very significant, showing that these
low worms, non-segmented in maturity, should not be excluded

350

from the class of worms, and tha
applies as well to the lowest

■I

The Turbellaria then, so fa;

velop (a) by fission! (M from -

through the following stages,
however, all observed in a si

3. A quiet, encysted (?) stage (Girard's Planocera).

4. Articulated stage observed in one species (Agassiz's Plo-
naria angulata).

5. Adult, ciliated, not segmented.

Development of the Trematodes. The flukes are parasitic
worms, with a sucking disk in the centre of the body by which
they attach themselves on or within the body of their host. The
fluke or "liver worm" (Distoma hepaticum) lives in the liver of
the sheep and of man. The fishes and snails are much infested
by them, nearly each species having its distinct kind of tluke.
The adult flukes are not ciliated, the alimentary canal ends in «

For the mode of formation of the egg of the Trematodes. and
the embryonic history of certain forms, the student is referred to
Leuckart's " Menschlichen Farasiten" and E. Van Beneden's
beautiful "Researches." E. Van Beneden has shown that the
development of the Trematodes begins by subdivision of the
g< rminative cellule or nucleus. The nucleus and nucleolus then
divide and subsequently the "protoplasmic body." The yolk,
however, remains entirely independent of this division, and sem s
as nourishment for the other cells forming the body of the

From Van Beneden's observations, it appears that the eggs of
the lower flukes as a rule undergo total segmentation, and the
young are hatched either oval, ciliated, Infusorian-like, without
anv organs, not even eye-specks, as in Distoma and Araphistoma ;
or "as in the highe,

BIOGRAPHIES OF SOME WORMS. 357

Beneden, the development is direct, the embryo passing directly
into a form like the adult.

For the further history of the fluke we will turn to Steenstrup's
famous work "On the Alternation of Generations," wherein is first
related the strange history of these animals. While the flakes
were well known, as well as the tadpole-like Cerearia, it was not
known before the publication of Steenstrup's work in 1842, that
the Cercariae were the free larval forms of the Distorme. The
Cerearia echinata, first described by Siebold, is like a Distoma ex-
eept that the body is prolonged into a long extensible tail. This

• ■ , IE...-" - V

furnished with transverse muscular fibres or stride, and between
each pair of these transverse fibres is placed a globular vesicle
wliii-h appears to be a mucous follicle or gland; the innermost
tube is opaque and of firmer consistence, it contains the longitu-
dinal muscular fibres, and is usually reticulated on the surface.
Through the centre of these tubes there passes a slightly narrower
canal, which becomes very small towards the extremity of the
tail. The existence of the same layers in the body itself of t •

layer is here not so much developed. This description of the
Cerearia will remind one of the tadpole-like larva of the Aseidiaus.
The apparent homology in structure of the tail of the Cerearia
with that of the Ascidian larva as figured by Kupffer, is striking.
This similarity may be seen if the reader will compare fig. 7,
Tab. ii, in De la Valette St. George's " Symbola?," representing
a stage in the development of Cerearia flava into Monostomum
tiatmm. The author figures a row of cells on each side of a
central cavity through which passes what is regarded as pos-
sibly a nerve. Whether this is not as much a chorda dorsalis
and spinal nerve as those parts regarded as such in the Ascidian
larva, is a subject for future investigation. But in other respects
the position of the mouth, the sense-organs, as well as the form
of the body strikingly recall the Ascidian larva, so much so that
it gives strong confirmation to the opinion that the Aseidians are
worms, and that they and the Trematodes have possibly originated
from allied forms. In another species, Cerearia ocellata, the tail
has a lateral fin ; and in still another species figured by J. Miiller

Um-

bo that in one larval Treraatode at least,
the annulated structure of the body exists,
as well as in the larval Planaria.

Returning now to Steenstrup's narrative,
he tells us that these "Echinate Cercaria!
(Fig. 164, A, parent nurse; e, germs;
a, nurse; B, larva), are found by thous-
ands, and frequently by millions in the
water, in which two of our largest fresh-

stagnalis, have been kept." After swim-
ming about in the water some time they

such numbers tha

« (B, •) to tb
latter look i

,vt're-l

of the !
with bits

The Cercaria by contracting its body and violent lashing of the
tail forces its way into the body of its host, loses its tail, and then
resembles a mature Distoma. By turning about in its place and
secreting a mucus, a cyst is gradually formed, with a spherical
shell. This constitutes the "pupa" state of the Cercaria, first

359

observed by Nitzsch and afterwards by Siebold. Steenstrup
thinks that the Cercaria casts a thin skin. In this state the body

can be seen through the shell of the cyst, as in Fig. 164, C, where
the circle of spines embedded around the mouth is seen.* The
encysted Cercarise remain in this state from July and August until
the following spring ; and during the winter months in snails kept
in warm rooms, they change into Distomas (Fig. 164, D) the ma-
ture fluke differing, however, in some important respects from the
tailless larvae. In nature they remain from two to nine months in
the encysted state.

" Now," asks Steenstrup, " Whence come the Cercaria? ?" Boja-
nus states that he saw this species swarming out from the " king's
yellow worms," which are about two lines long and occur in great
numbers in the interior of snails. From these are developed the
larval Distomas, and Steenstrup calls them the "nurses" of the
C'ercarhe and Dislomata. They exactly resemble the "parent
nurses" (Fig. 164, A) and like them the cavity of the body is filled
with young, which develop from egg-like balls of cells. Steenstrup
was forced to conclude that these nurses originated from the first
nurses (Fig. 164) which he therefore calls "parent-nurses." Here
the direct observations of Steenstrup on the Cercaria echinata came
to an end, but he believed that the parent-nurses came from eggs.
The link in the cycle of generations he supplied from the observa-
tions of Siebold, who saw a Cercaria-like young (Fig. 165, B)
expelled from the body of the ciliated larva of Monostomum
mutabile (Fig. 165, A, a, nurse developing from ciliated larva ; m,
mouth ; b, eye specks). Steenstrup remarks that " the first form of
this embryo is not unlike that of the common ciliated progeny of
the Trematoda, as they have been known to us in many species
for a long time, from the observations of Mehlis, Nordmann and
Siebold, and it might at first sight be taken for one of the poly-
gastric infusoria of Ehrenberg, which also move by cilia ; whilst
in the next form which it assumes the young Monostomum bears
an undeniable resemblance to those animals which I have termed
'nurses' and 'parent nurses' in that species of the Trematoda
which is developed from the Cercaria echinata"

Thus the cycle is completed and the following summary of

of an alternation of generations as seen in the jelly fishes.

1. Egg.

2. Morula.

3. Ciliated larva.

5. Cercaria (nurse, scolex).

6. Encysted Cercaria (Proglottis).

7. Distoma (Proglottis).

The Cercaria echinata, living in snails which are oaten by duck-,
have been shown by St. George to develop into the adult Distoma
in the body of that bird. It is generally the case that those Dis-

the larval state in animals which serve as food for higher orders.
Thus the Bucephalus of the European oyster passes in the en-
cysted state into a fish (Gasterostomum), which serves as food for
a larger fish, Belone vulgaris, where the cysts of the same worm

Distoma hepaticum, the liver fluke, sometimes occurring in man,
is thought by Dr. Willemoes-Suhm to begin its existence as Cer-
caria cystophora, parasitic on a species of Planorbis.

Development of the Cestodes. In the tape worm there is no ali-
mentary canal, the liquid food being absorbed from the juices of
its host through the walls of the body. The head is armed with
suckers, hooks or leaf-like soft appendages, while the body is sub-
dh ided usually into a great number of segments, each containing
an ovary and male gland. While the Turbellaria possess a pair
of nerve-ganglia, the Cestodes are not known positively to possess
any trace of a nervous system.

E. Van Beneden shows that the egg is formed by two glands,
one of which (the germogene) forms the nucleus and nucleolus,
while the other (vitellogene) forms the yolk. Development begins
very probably as in the Trematodes, by multiplication by <1iwsh>i>
of the nucleus (germinative cell). In the eggs of Tania bacil-

302

new joints arise behind the head until the form of the tape worm
is attained, as in Fig. 167, after Weinland.

Now we shall see how the eggs are produced. The hinder
joints become filled with eggs and then break off, becoming inde-
pendent animals comparable with the "parent-nurses" of the Cer-
carias, except that they are not contained in the body of the
Taenia (as in the Cercaria), but are set free. The independent
joint (Fig. 167, g, is called a "proglottis." It escapes from the
alimentary tract, and the eggs set free are swallowed by that un-

clean animal, the pig, and the cycle of generations begins anew.
We thus have the following series of changes which may be com-
pared with the homologous series in the flukes :

2. Morula.

3. Double-walled sac (Planula?).

4. Proscolex, free embryo with hooks, surrounded by a blasto-
dermic skin (Amnion?).

5. Scolex (Cysticercus, larva). Body few-jointed.

6. Scolex (Tamia). Body many-jointed.

7. Proglottis (adult).

Egg.

Development of the Nemerteans. In the development
of these worms we are reminded of the mode of grow
Echinoderms, while in others the larvae attain the adult
by gradual development. In no order of animals, p<
there a greater range of variation in the mode of de\
than in these curious worms.

The simplest mode of growth is that described by Die
phalothrix, where the ciliated larva, after passing through
and planula 1 stage (being a two-layered sac, but not a
leaves the egg and undergoes no metamorphosis, the yoi
having no body cavity. In the Nemertes larva of Desc
a body cavity, but the larva is still an infusorian-like 1.
attains maturity by direct growth. Another Nemertean
munis) has been found by Barrois to have a somewhat n
plicated mode of growth than in the larva of Desor.
stages of development are like Fig.no.
those of the larva of Desor, the

teans in which there is a very
complicated metamorphosis. J.
Miiller had described an animal vimh
caught with the towing net which he
had suspected that a Nemertes came f

864

kart and Pagenstecker proved it. Our figure taken from the

dinm, and the planarian-like Nemertes with the eye- specks (Fig.
170, e), growing in it. How the worm originates in the body of
the Pilidium. and how the hitter arises, have lately, been fully shown
by Metsehnikoff, and to his memoir we are indebted for the
strange history of the alternation of generations in these worms.

He followed the development of the Pilidium from the egg,
which undergoes total segmentation, leaving a segmentation-cav-
ity. The next occurrence is the separation of a one-layered cili-
ated blastoderm, the ectoderm, which invaginates, forming the
primitive digestive cavity, from which the stomach and oesophagus
are formed. The larva is now helmet-shaped, ciliated, with a long
lash (flagellum) attached to the posterior end of the body.

After swimming about on the surface of tire sea awhile, the
Nemertes begins to grow out from near the oesophagus of the
Pilidium. On each side of the base of the velum (v) of the Pilid-
ium appear two thickenings of the skin, one pair in front, the other
behind ; these thickenings push inwards, and are the germs of the
anterior and posterior end of the future worm. The anterior pair
become larger than the posterior ; the part of the disk next to the
cesophagus thickens ; at the same time the alimentary canal of
the Pilidium grows smaller and only a narrow slit remains. The
disks now divide into two layers, the outer much thicker than
the inner. A new structure now arises, a pair of vesicles near the
hinder pair of disks ; these are the "lateral organs" of the future
worm. Soon the anterior pair of disks unite and the head of the
worm is soon formed, when the elliptical outline of the flat worm
is indicated, and appears somewhat as in Fig. 170 (», intestine
of the worm). The yolk mass, with the alimentary canal of the
Pilidium, is taken bodily into the interior of the Nemertes, the
Pilidium skin falls off, and the worm seeks the bottom.

Metsehnikoff discovered five other species of Pilidium, and
thinks this mode of development is not an uncommon occurrence.
This manner of development is directly comparable with that of
the echinoderm from the Pluteus.

To show the wide range of metamorphosis existing in the Ne-
merteans, we may cite the case of a Nareda studied by Mr. A.
Agassiz, and whose early stages are like those of the higher
Annelides, in fact so much so that Milne-Edwards and Claparede

366

associated "the larva of Loven" (which Mr. Agassiz has traced
without any doubt to the Nemertean worm) with that of Polynoe,
a representative of the highest family of Chaetopod worms. In
the first stage (Fig. 171, a, anus: c, intestine; m, mouth; o,
oesophagus ; a, stomach ; e, eye-speck ; v, ciliated ring) the larva
is not ringed ; this figure may be compared with figure 96 on p.
231 to show how much alike the worm and Echinoderm larvae
appear. The new rings are formed between the anal rings and the
older anterior rings, as in annelid larvae, and in fact in the em-
bryos of the Insects and Crustacea. Figs. 172 and 173 represent
the ringed larva. "A number of rings make their appearance at
once, and are the more distinct the nearer they are placed to the
mouth." The worm now greatly elongates, more segments are
added and it appears as in Figs. 174 and 175, with the ciliated
crown, the small short tentacles and eyes. The worm now swims
about slowly and creeps over the bottom, and is nearly a quarter
of an inch long. It will be observed that the larva differs from
those of other Annelides, as Mr. Agassiz states, in the absence of
"feet, bristles or appendages of any sort, except the two tentacles
of the head ; and, were it not for these, it would seem as if the
young worm were the larva of some Nemertes-like animal." Fig.
176 represents the worm over four months after the stage rep-
resented by Fig. 175, the articulations have disappeared an* a
month later the head is separated from the body by a neck, the
tentacles disappear, the body is flattened, and the Nemertes
(Polia) form is attained.

It is thus interesting to know that the young Echinoderm (Fig.
96), the young mollusk (Fig. 140 B) and the young Nemertean
worm pass through a similar free swimming Cephalula stage. ^ e
shall see farther on that the young Balanoglossus and the true

should be borne in mind that different species pass throng"
ferent cycles of growth, some exhibiting no metamorphosis,
stages being more or less condensed in the embryo state.
1- Egg.

2. Morula.

3. Planula (or Gastrula?) hatching as a

4. Ciliated Infusorian-like larva, or a

5. Pilidium or a Cephalula.

HI. CH/KTOGNATHI (Sagitta).

to the mollusca by Forbes, and even to the vertebrates by Meiss-
ner. Its development and structure, however, show that it is
nearly related to the Nematodes. The mouth is, however, armed
with six pairs of bristles ; and a double-fin-like expansion of the
sides and ends of the body gives it a slightly fish-like shape. This
fin-like expansion is seen in the (Vivaria, an- 1 the young ascid-
ian, and is of little morphological importance. It swims on the
surface of the water, not seeking the bottom or living parasiti-
cally.

Development of Sagitta. This animal is a hermaphrodite, and
the eggs may be found in August well developed. Its develop-
ment has been studied by Gegenbaur and m m
Kowalevsky, by the latter in great detail.
The egg undergoes total segmentation, a
segmentation cavity being formed and the
blastoderm invaginating exactly as in the
Nematodes. This results in the formation
of a gastrula-condition (Fig. 179) in which
the infolding of the blastoderm leaves a
well marked primitive body cavity. Soon
at the opposite end of the body another
cavity (the permanent mouth) forms, which deepens and coi
with the primitive body cavity ; this closes up at the posterio
and the true digestive canal is formed. The embryo is ova
soon elongates, and the adult Sagitta form is attained befoi

The phases of development are then as follows :

2. Gastrula (well marked, but not ciliated and free).

3. Adult Sagitta.

IV. ACANTHOCEPHALI.
The Echinorhynchus (Fig. 180, head, after Owen) ; 181, the
muscles; cc, retractile muscles; from Owen), a singular worm,

870

without a mouth or alimentary canal, but with a large proboscis
Tig . m . armed with hooks, evidently lives by imbibition

I of the fluids of its host. It is a not uncommon
parasite of fishes. Fig. 182 represents an al-
lied^) form (Koleops anguilla) described by Dr.
Lockwood, who found it in the eel (Ajiebican
Naturalist, vi, 1872).
Development of EchinorJiynchus gigas. Schnei-
der has given the only account we have of the
early stages of this worm. " The ova of this
worm are scattered upon the ground by the pigs.
Here they are eaten by the larvse of Melolontha
vulgaris [a beetle allied to our June beetle], and
Koieops. t h us arr ive at their further development. The
ova burst in the stomach of the larva, and the embryos contained

"The larvae infested with Echinorhynchi
morphosis into cockchafers. . . .
arrived at the body cavity of the larva? of Melolontha, they re-
main for some days unaltered and capable of motion ; they then
become rigid, acquire an oval form, and envelope themselves in a
finely cellular cyst, which is formed of the connective tissue o
the larva. The skin of the embryo, with its circlet of spines a
the anterior extremity, continues at first to be the skin of the
growing larva ; and it is only at a later period, when the forma-

371

tion of the hooks commences, that it is thrown off, when it forms
a second cystic envelope. The embryo, or rather the larva, pro-
ceeding from it, divides very soon into two layers, a thick dermal
layer and an inner cell-mass, from which the other organs origi-
nate." The ovaries and testes are produced at a very early stage.

V. ROTATORIA.
The Rotifers, by some eminent naturalists regarded as Crus-
tacea, are shelled worms, related to the flat-worms in many re-
spects. The body consists of sev-
eral segments, and the sexes are j**' 1 ^ v>
very unlike, the small males hav-
ing the organs more or less rudi- I

mental, with no alimentary canal. ^^HHHSBH

Like the lower worms they have a *' ^^^BHBHft^M

tubes excretory in their na- g( ^^^H^^^^B^H ,

and perhaps respiratory, cor- * ^^HHH^U^H 60
to^the water ^^^^^HH^>

tubes the Radiates, but ^H^H^HH^H

comparable with s? ^HSH|BS^H °

mental of the Brachiopods ^|H5»kS^H egl

and higher worms ; also pair of " ^■■B

teeth in pharynx, as in many v ^^HE^H

worms. The anus is situated on f
the back at the base of the tail.

Sometimes the digestive canal ^^^^^^^
ends in a blind sac. The distinc-

tive organ is the retractile, ciliated, paired organ which may be
called the velum. Fig. 183 1 from H. J. Clark, represents Squa-

.372

mella oblonga of Ehrenberg, found in this country. It is closely
allied to Bracbionus.

Developmen
males lay bo

fertilized, like the summer eggs of the Cladocera (Daphnia). The
Rotifers live in damp places in water and revive after being
nearly dried up for a long time. Dr. Salensky has been the first
to give a complete sketch of the life-history of a Rotifer, Brach-

The eggs of Bracbionus are attached by a stalk to the hinder
part of the body of the female. The following remarks apply to
the female eggs, which are quite distinguishable from the mascu-
line ones. The eggs undergo total segmentation, and the outer
layer of cells resulting from subdivision form the blastoderm,
when the formation of the organs begins. The first occurrence is
an infolding of the blastoderm (ectoderm) forming the primitive
mouth, which remains permanently open, the mouth not opening
at the opposite end as in Sagitta', but the entire development of
the germ is as in Calyptrsea, as Salensky often compares the ear-
liest phases of development of the Rotifer with those of that raol-
lusk. The "trochal disk," or velum, as we may call the ciliated

ing on each side of the primitive infolding. Behind the primitive
hole appears another swelling, which becomes the "foot" or tail.

There is soon formed at the bottom of the primitive infolding a
new hole or infolding, which is the true mouth and pharynx, while
a swelling just behind the mouth becomes the under lip.

Soon after, the two wings of the velum become well marked, and
their relation to the head is as constant as in Calyptrsea. The
Fio- isu foot becomes conical, larger, and the termination

of the intestine and anal opening is formed at

The internal organs are then elaborated : fi«t
the nervous system, consisting of but a
pair of ganglia arising from the outer germ-taj*
(ectoderm). Soon after the sensitive hairs arise
on the wings of the velum.
Brachionu* nearly Fig. 184 shows the advanced embryo, with the
ready to hatch. body divided into se g me nts, the pair of cihat ?~
swings of the velum (v), and the long tail (<)• At this time 1 *

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

373

shell begins to form, and afterwards covers the whole trunk, but
not the head.

The inner organs are developed from the inner germ-layer (en-
doderm), which divides into three leaves, one forming the middle
part of the intestine, and the two others the glands and ovaries.
The pharyngeal jaws arise as two small projections on the sides of
the primitive cavity.

The male develops in the same mode as the female. The Roti-
fers, so far as can be judged from one species, seem to develop in a
manner quite unlike oilier worms, and in the earliest phases much
as in some Gastropods, the mode of their embryology not throwing
much light on the affinities of the group, which is of doubtful posi-
tion, though with more of the characters of worms than Crustacea.

The young pass through a morula state, and the embryo directly
attains the mature form in the egg.

BEVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

Sullivant's Icones Muscorum, op Figures and Descriptions

have not tet been fioured. — Supplement {Posthumous) . With
eighty-one copper plates, imp. 8vo. Prefaced by a Biographical
Sketch of the author, by Asa Gray. Mr. Sullivant died on the
30th of April, 1873, leaving the plates of this exquisite volume
ready for publication, and the letter-press partially so. The
latter has been completed by his friend and associate, Mr. Les-
quereux ; and the volume has at length been brought out, at the
expense of Mr. Sullivant's executors, and in accordance with his
wishes. Only a very small edition has been printed. The deli-
cate copper plates were not intended for a large impression ; and
the number of botanists interested in the serious study of mosses
is supposed to be small.

As with the larger first volume, with one hundred and twenty-
three plates, issued ten years ago, so with this supplementary one
now bequeathed to botanists, the sale of the whole edition, at the
price for the present fixed, would be far from covering the actual

374

pecuniary outlay in the production. The work is a -gift to bryolog-
ical science by one of its most distinguished cultivators, who,
fortunately, was blessed with the means which enabled him to
bestow it. He accordingly fixed a price much below the cost, so
as to bring the work fairly within the reach of students who may
desire it. This policy will still be adhered to for a sufficient time
to enable those in this country who need the work to obtain it
advantageously. For the present the price of the original volume
will be $14.00 ; of the supplement $10.00 ; of the two together,
624.00. It is supplied by the American Naturalists' Agency, as
well as by Charles W. Sever, Cambridge, Mass., by Westermann
& Co., New York, and by Trubner & Co., London. — Asa Gray.

BOTANY.

Introduction of Ulex europ^eus in the Bermudas.— In the
winter of 1872-3, 1 sowed English seed of this shrub in my garden,
and a few healthy plants were produced in the course of twelve
weeks or so. Leaving for the north for the summer months, I
thought it best, to insure their safety, to present them to His
Excellency the Governor, Major General Lefroy, whose endeavors
to introduce new forms of vegetation into the islands are widely
known and appreciated. The plants died during the summer.'
More seeds were then sown in Government House garden and
came up well, and being transplanted into favorable positions,
throve beyond expectation, and in February last I had the pleas-
ure of seeing several plants, arranged as a thicket on a north-
western slope, in blossom. Still, I was somewhat skeptical re-
garding the ultimate result, knowing that this form refuses to
grow farther south than the latitude of 42° in the eastern hemis-
phere, but much to my satisfaction the legumes duly formed, and
the seeds became fully ripe at the beginning of this month, so that
the plant may now be said to be naturalized in these islands.— J-
Matthew Jones, the Hermitage, Bermudas, May 12, 1875.

ZOOLOGY.

Mr. Gentry's paper on Fertilization through Insect
Agency. — It is to be regretted that this interesting paper fails
just where it might be of scientific value. If Mr. Gentry, who,
by the context of the article evidently anticipated cross fertiliza-
tion, had enclosed a few female flowers in gauze bags, and self

375

fertilized them, the case of Cucurbita ovifera would have been
complete, and in Wistaria how easy to take pollen from some ma-
ture flowers and impregnate the younger ones. It is tantalizing
to be put off with "incontrovertible" inferences and suggestions,
when the material for actual proof was so near at hand.—
T. Meehan.

Colorado Potato Beetle destroyed bt the Rose-breasted
Grosbeak. — I noticed last summer that great numbers of the Col-
orado potato beetle were destroyed by the Rose-breasted grosbeak,
Goniaphea Ludoviciana.

The farmers hold these birds in great favor, and are very care-
ful to prevent their destruction. They were so abundant in this
region last summer as to hold in check the vast army of these
ravagers of the potato crop.— W. F. Bundy, Jefferson, Wis., Feb.
25, 1875.

The Umbellttla. — A monograph of the genus has just been
received from Mr. Linclahl, published in the Swedish Transactions.
These polypes are sea pens, with a remarkably long stalk, attaining
the length of two or three feet. The species are of great rarity,
occurring at great depths off Spitzsbergen, Baffin's Bay, North
Greenland, and off Cape Finisterre. A second genus, Crinillum,
occurred in Banka Sea.

Cigars Destroyed by Insects.— The disciples of Mr. Trask
will be glad to know that "the weed" is devoured by three kinds
of insects, and thus rendered unfit for the use of man. In a collec-
tion found by a friend in a lot of cigars, which they had ruined,
Dr. Horn enumerates three beetles: Catorama simplex, Xyloteresf
and Calandra oryzce.

GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY.

The Sand Dunes of the San Ldis Valley.— On our homeward
march while in the service of the U. S. Geological Survey (Dr. F.
V. Hayden's) during the summer of 1874, we passed close to the
Tvell-knosvn "sandhills" of the San Luis Valley lying at the base
of the Sangre de Christo Range opposite Musca Pass. They con-
sist of a range of angular dunes extending in horse-shoe form for
some ten miles, the central points of which will average over
seven hundred feet in height, making a very prominent object

376

against the dark back-ground afforded by the Sierras Sangre de
Christo and Belanca. Outside of this range of sandhills along
their whole extent stretches a perfect arena (literally), into
the eastern end of which a river of considerable size rushes
down, and is utterly lost in five hundred yards, rc;i] -
again, much diminished, several miles below. This floor of sand
and the square sides of the dunes to the very top has been ruffled
by the wind into small irregular furrows identically the same as
the ripple-marks made by the water on a sandy beach. But
while the body of this pure fine sand is hammered as compact
as that under the waves, the surface is a little softer, so as to
readily receive and preserve in ordinarily still weather such deli-
cate marks as the tracks of spiders and small lizards. I noticed
also that portions of this ripple-marked floor which had not been
recently disturbed, was of a slightly different color from newly
exposed sand. It struck me at the time, that sand might easily
be blown over this smooth surface without disturbing it, and
should it lie there long enough to become rock, this first sur-
face would form a natural line of separation between the strata,
having every appearance of an old ripple-marked beach perhaps
containing impressions and delicate fossils, when in fact no
watiT had been near it, and the wind alone was accountable for
the whole. — Ehnest Ingersoll.

MICROSCOPY.

Double Staining of -wood and other Vegetable Sections.
—I have lately discovered that benzole fixes the anilines when
they are used in staining vegetable and animal tissues. It not
only instantly fixes any aniline color in vegetable tissues, but
also renders them as transparent as oil of cloves.

Finding that benzole possessed this property, led me to try
double staining upon sections of leaves and sections of wood.
The results have proved highly satisfactory. I have found the
following processes successful A section, say of wood, being
prepared for dyeing, is put for five or ten minutes in an alcoholic
solution of " Roseine Pure" (Magenta), one-eighth or one-quarter
of a grain to the ounce. From this it is removed to a solution of
"Nicholson's Soluble Blue Pure," one half-grain to the ounce of
alcohol, acidulated with one drop of nitric acid. In this it should

377

be kept for thirty or ninety seconds, rarely longer. It should be
frequently removed with the forceps during this period, and held
to the light for examination, so that the moment for final removal
and putting into benzole be not missed. After a little practice
the eye will accurately determine the time for removal.

Before placing the object in benzole it is well to hold it in the
forceps for a few seconds, letting the end touch some clean surface,
that the dye may drip off, and the object may become partially
dry. By doing this, fewer particles of insoluble dye rise to the
surface of the benzole, in which the brushing is done to remove
foreign matter. The object should then be put into clean benzole.
In this it may be examined under the glass. If it is found that
it has been kept in the blue too short a time, it should be
thoroughly dried, and, after dipping in alcohol, be returned to that
dye. If a section of leaf or other soft tissue be under treatment,
it should be put in turpentine or oil of juniper, as they do not
contract so much as benzole.

When hrematoxylon is used instead of magenta, it is followed
by the blue as just described. As neither of these dyes comes out
in alcohol or in oil of cloves, the section may be kept in the
former for a short time before' placing in the latter.

The haematoxylon dye I prefer is prepared by triturating in a
mortar for about ten minutes two drachms of ground Campeaehy
wood with one ounce of absolute alcohol, setting it aside for
twelve hours, well covered, triturating again and filtering. Ten
drops of this are added to forty drops of a solution of alum ;
twenty grains to the ounce of water. After one hour the mixture
is filtered.

Into this the section, previously soaked in alum-water, is placed
for two or three hours, or until dyed of a moderately dark shade.
When dyed of the depth of shade desired, which is determined by
dipping it in alum-water, the section is successively washed for a
few minutes each, in alum-water, pure water and fifty per cent.
* alcohol. Finally it is put in pure alcohol until transferred to the
blue.

Carmine and aniline blue produce marked stainings T but they
are rather glaring to the eye under the glass. I use an ammoniacal
solution of the former, double the strength of Beale's, substituting
water for glycerine. In this a section is kept for several hours.
On removal it should be dipped in water, and then put for a few

378

minutes in alcohol acidulated with two per cent, of nitric acid :
then in pure alcohol ; then in the half-grain blue solution before
spoken of, from which it should be removed to alcohol ; then to
oil of cloves. Much color will be lost in the acid alcohol. The
acid is to neutralize the ammonia, which is inimical to aniline blue.
Magenta aniline or hsematoxylon may be used with green instead
of blue aniline. The brand of green I prefer is the iodine brand,
one grain to the ounce of alcohol.

Double stainings of sections of leaves in which red is first used,
have the spiral vessels stained this color, other parts being purple
or blue. Radial and tangenital sections of wood have the longi-
tudinal woody fibres red, and other parts purple or blue.

This selection of color is, I think, clue to the fact that spiral
vessels and woody fibres take up more red than other parts, and
are slower in parting with it. The blue, therefore, seems first to
overcome the red in parts where there is less of it. It will en-
tirely overcome the red if sufficient time be given.

If the blue be used before the magenta aniline, the selection of
color is reversed.

I would here call special attention to the importance of examin-
ing these stainings at night, as the red in them has a trace of blue
in it which does not show at that time, but comes out so decidedly
•by daylight, as to change, even spoil, the appearance of the spec-

I think they should be mounted in Canada balsam, softened
with benzole, as the presence of the latter may be beneficial in
preserving its magnets.

I would offer a few words upon section-cutting, and upon pre-
paring sections for dyeing.

To cut a thick leaf, place a bit of it between two pieces of
potato or turnip, and tie with a string. Cuts may be made along
the midrib, or across it, including a portion of leaf on either side,
or through several veins. Fine shavings of wood may be used,
or pieces rubbed down.on hones.

Sections of leaves may be decolored for staining by placing for
some time in alcohol; but I would recommend the use of
Labarraqne's solution of chlorinated soda, for a few hours after the
alcohol. Especially do I recommend the Labarraque for all kinds
of wood. In twelve hours wood is generally bleached ; too long
a residence in it will, however, often cause it to fall in pieces.

379

After removing from the soda, wash through a period of twelve
or eighteen hours in half a dozen waters, the third of which may
be acidulated with about ten drops of nitric acid to the ounce,
which acid must be washed out. Next put in alcohol, in which
sections and also leaves may be kept indefinitely, ready for dyeing.

Magenta, when used for leaves, should be of the strength of
one-eighth or one-quarter of a grain to the ounce of alcohol, and
purples and iodine-green two or three times as strong. These
anilines are inferior to the blue in bringing out all the anatomical
parts of a leaf, including the beautiful crystals so often met with.
On removal from the dye, leaves should be thoroughly brushed
with camel-hair pencils.

One week, instead of forty-eight hours, is frequently required
to effect the decoloration of large leaves in chlorinated soda, even
when they are cut into several pieces, which is advisable.

Mr: L. R. Peet, of this city, whose stainings in aniline are un-
surpassed for beauty, thinks better results are attained by com-
mencing with a weak dye, say from one-twentieth to one-twelfth
of a grain, and slowly increasing the strength of the dye, at in-
tervals of from one to three hours, until the required hue is ob-
tained. This process certainly guards against too deep staining,
and may give a finer tone to leaves under the glass. — Geo. D.
Beattt, M.D., Baltimore, in Science-Gossip.

American Association for the Advancement of Science.—
The 24th meeting of the Association will be held in Detroit, Mich.,
beginning on Wednesday, August 11, next. The circular of the
Permanent Secretary states that the headquarters of the Associa-
tion will be at the Russell House, on Monday and Tuesday preced-
ing the meeting, and on Wednesday and the following days at the
City Hall and Court House, where the general and sectional sessions
will be held, and where the Association will be.well accommodated.
The citizens of Detroit have formed a large working local com-
mittee, comprising nearly two hundred of the leading citizens, with
the Governor of the State as Chairman, and we are assured that
everything possible will be done to make the meeting a successful
°ne so far as the local arrangements are concerned, while the
extraordinary interest taken in the last meeting by the members
indicates that the scientific element of the next meeting will be

well sustained. The election of all the important officers a year
in advance will not only save much time in organizing the Detroit
meeting but will also secure special addresses from the pn>siding
officers of the sections, similar to those which make so important
a part of the proceedings of the British Association.

At an early date the Local Committee will issue their circular
to members of the Association, giving details relating to tbe
arrangements made for the accommodation of members while in
Detroit, and such other information as may be of interest to those
intending to be present at the meeting, including any facilities
offered by the railroads, reduction of hotel prices, contemplated
excursions, etc. In order to receive the circular of. the Local
Committee without fail, it is desired that all persons now planning
to attend the meeting should send their addresses to Frederick
Woolfenden, Esq., Secretary of the Local Committee, Detroit.

Professor F. W. Clarke of Cincinnati, appointed by the Chemical
Subsection of the Hartford Meeting to notify chemists of the
organization of a Permanent Subsection of Chemistry, requests
that attention be called to the fact that the subsection is a perma-
nent organization, and states that the general interest awakme. I

specially interested in that department.

The attention of persons specially interested in Entomology is
directed to the action taken by the Entomologists at the Hartford
meeting, and to the fact that there will be a meeting of the En-
tomological Club of the Association at Detroit, on Tuesday,
August 10 .(the day preceding the meeting of the Association),
at which all interested are invited to be present.

It was also suggested at the last meeting that special efforts be
made to bring the Ethnologists and Archaeologists together a
Detroit in order to form a permanent subsection of AnthropolOgyi
and it is probable that definite action will be taken on the subject
at the coming meeting.

Any person may become a member of the Association npofl

by the Standing Committee^ and election by a majority of the
members and fellows present in general session. Blank form* 11 1
recommendation to membership, and also copies of the genera! ui
cular, will be furnished on application to F. W. Putnam, Perma-
nent Secretary, Salem, Mass.

381

The following are the Officers of the Detroit Meeting :— Presi-
dent, J. E. Hilgard, of Washington ; Vice-President, Section A,
H. A. Newton, of New Haven ; Vice-President, Section B, J. W.
Dawson, of Montreal ; Chairman of Chemical Subsection, S. TV.
Johnson, of New Haven ; Permanent Secretary, F. W. Putnam,
of Salem ; General Secretary, S. H. Scudder, of Cambridge ; Sec-
retary of Section A, S. P. Langley, of Alleghany, Pa. ; Secretary
of Section B, N. S. Shaler, of Newport, Ky. ; Treasurer, W. S.
Vaux, of Philadelphia.

Standing Committee .-—Past Presidents, Wm. B. Rogers, of Bos-
ton ; Joseph Henry, of Washington ; Benjamin Peirce, of Cam-
bridge ; James D. Dana, of New Haven ; James Hall, of Albany ;
Alexis Caswell, of Providence ; Stephen Alexander, of Princeton ;
Isaac Lea, of Philadelphia ; F. A. P. Barnard, of New York ; J.
S. Newberry, of New York ; B. A. Gould, of Boston ; T. Sterry
Hunt, of Boston ; Asa Gray, of Cambridge ; J. Lawrence Smith,
of Louisville; Joseph Lovering, of Cambridge; the President,
Vice-Presidents, Secretaries, and Treasurer of the Detroit Meet-
ing. As Officers of the Hartford Meeting, John L. LeConte, of
Philadelphia ; C. S. Lyman, of New Haven ; A. C. Hamlin, of
Bangor ; from the Association at large, Six Fellows to be elected
on the first day of the meeting.

Local Committee:— Chairman, His Excellency, Governor John
J. v B;igley ; Treasurer, William A. Butler, Esq. ; Secretary, Fred-
erick Woolfenden, Esq. ; also special sub-committees on Recep-
tion, Rooms, Excursions, Entertainment, Printing, etc.

Bulletin No 2, second series of Hayden's geological and geo-
graphical Survey of the Territories was issued May 14th by the
Department of the Interior. It contains important papers as
follows:— I, Monograph of the genus Leucosticte, Swainson ; or,
Gray-crowned Purple Finches, by Robert Ridgway. II, The cra-
nial and dental characters of Geomydae, by Dr. Elliott Coues.
HI, Relations of Insectivorous Mammals, by Theodore Gill. IV,
Report on the Natural History of the United States Geological
and Geographical Survey of the Territories, 1874, by Ernest
Ingersoll.

This was followed on the next day by a third Bulletin, being a
"Topographical and Geological Report on the San Juan Country"
by A. D. Wilson, the topography illustrated by a map ; with a

382

second topographical report, and a most entertaining narrative it
is, by Franklin Rhoda, assistant topographer. This is illustrated
by characteristic panoramic views of Mt. Sneffles and adjoining
mountains, and of the quartzite peaks seen in looking across the
great canon of the Animas. These reports and two heliotypes of
the eroded rocks of Colorado, with an explanatory note by Prof.
Hayclen, the Geologist in charge, render this a most timely issue,

As a result of the institution of the Anderson School of Nat-
ural History at Penikese Island, we are gratified to see the estab-
lishment of a similar school in Normal, Illinois.

Arrangements have been completed for a summer meeting of
the association of Natural History of Illinois, for the study of
botany and zoology, to be held at the museum at Normal, Illinois,
commencing July 14th, and continuing until August 11th.

The following gentleman have been engaged as instructors for
the term :— Prof. B. G. Wilder, Prof. W. S. Barnard, Ph.D., Prof.
T. J. Burrill, Prof. Comstock, and Prof. S. A. Forbes.

It is found necessary to limit the attendance to fifty students ;
but, within this limit, the class will be open to the teachers of the
State. It is desirable that all names should be sent to the com-
mittee by the fifteenth of June.

A part of the expenses of the session will be defrayed by a tui-
tion fee of ten dollars for each student ; the remainder have al-
ready been provided for through the generosity of friends.

The school is to be conducted by the executive committee of
the association. We hope to see similar schools forming next
year, at least one for each section of the country.

The Zoological Garden at Philadelphia is rapidly increasing its
collection of American and exotic animals. Mr. Goode has re-
cently brought from Florida, according to "The Rod and the
Gun," one hundred and thirty-two specimens representing thirty-
two species, distributed as follows : mammals, five species ; birds,
one ; lizards, four ; serpents, sixteen ; turtles, five ; amphibians,
one. A number of Florida wild hogs have been engaged and
negotiations are in progress for some manatees from the Indian
River country.

Lt. Wheeler's Progress Report upon geographical and geolog-
ical explorations and surveys west of tbe one hundredth meridian

NOTES. 383

in 1872 has been lately issued. It is a quarto pamphlet of fifty-
six pages, and is illustrated with four excellent heliotypes of the
striking scenery of the canon of the Colorado, and with maps,
including a progress map of explorations and surveys conducted
by the War Department. Appended are reports of the other
officers and civilians connected with the survey. We shall look
with interest for the appearance of the final report of the survey.

Dr. Gill's " Catalogue of the Fishes of the East Coast of North
America" which originally appeared as an Appendix to Prof.
Baird's Report on the Fish and Fisheries of the United States,
has been republished by the Smithsonian Institution.

The importation into Finland or any portion of Russian terri-
tory of American potatoes, or sacks, cases, or any other articles,
which have contained them is prohibited. We suppose on account
of the fear of introducing the Colorado potato beetle.

The "San Diego Lyceum of Natural Sciences" was organized
at San Diego Cal., in 1873. The officers for 1875 are Dr. R. J.
Gregg, President, and George N. Hitchcock, Secretary.

"The Vineland Natural History Club," with about twenty-five
members, was organized at Vineland, N. J., March 25, under the
Presidency of Mr. D. F. Morrill.

The "Nebraska Association for the Advancement of Science"
has been established at North Platte, Nebraska. I. W. LaMunyon
is President, and A. H. Church, Secretary.

Dr. John Edward Gray, late keeper of the zoological depart-
ment of the British Museum, died March 21st, at London, aged 75.
He was the leading editor of the "Annals and Magazine of Nat-
ural History."

Prop. Marsh has secured for the museum of Yale College, a
perfect skeleton of the mastodon lately exhumed at Otisville,
Orange Co., N. Y.

Prof. F. V. Hayden has been elected a corresponding member
of the Geological Society of London.

Prof. Cyrus Thomas has been appointed State Entomologist
Illinois.

The Anderson School at Penikese has been discontinued for
the present season, for want of funds.

THE

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

ol. IX. — JULY, 1875. -No. 7.

THE VEGETATION OF THE ILLINOIS LOWLANI

The vegetable life of Illinois presents many points of general
interest, and these are nowhere else so prominent or peculiar as
over the broad, level tracks of moist land so often bordering the
large streams of the West. These lowlands or, as locally termed,
"bottom lands" or "river bottoms," are of very variable extent,
their limits being determined for each stream by the character of
the region through which it takes its course. In one part of the
river they are many rods in width and follow it for miles ; in an-
other they are narrow and soon end, and again they are wholly
wanting, as when bluffs come to the water's edge and form rocky
or gravelly banks. This is finely illustrated in Northern Illinois,
where along the Mississippi are high banks with many an out-
cropping cliff of Galena or Niagara limestone. These cliffs have
weathered into forms so strangely like half-ruined fortresses that
it is not easy to believe that yonder bit of wall, half concealed by
vines and shrubs, this crumbling turret, or those broken battle-
ments, are but rough masses of rock. In passing from the ex-
treme northern part of the state southward, we find the hilly,
uneven surface growing smoother and more like a rolling prairie,
which it finally becomes, and this in turn giving place to the dead

level of the flat prairie ; yet the greater part of the northern third
of the state is far from level, and the river bottoms, though often
extending one or two, and in some places, five miles from the
Mississippi, are not infrequently broken up by highlands. Nearer
the centre of the state these lowlands are wider and less inter-
rupted in their extent. From Rock Island to Quincy, and even
still farther south, for a distance of over two hundred miles, bluffs
do not form the shores of the Mississippi, except at intervals
widely separated and for short distances. In many places the
banks are formed simply of the washed out edges of great prairies
that extend for many miles into the state. Often while the banks
themselves are low, at varying distances from the water the
ground rises in rounded hillocks or ridges, or masses of limestone
jut out above the surface and form sharp cliffs, all known under
the general name "bluff." Between the bluffs and the river the
ground is generally low, moist and often swampy. Such lowlands
along the great river are from a few rods to ten miles in width
and, of course, many more in length. Similar, though less ex-
tensive lowlands, are found along Rock River, Illinois River and
other lesser streams, and along the Iowa side of the Mississippi.
Not all of these river bottoms are swampy, some are reached only
by unusually great freshets and are very valuable as farm lands,
the soil being the richest loam, others, but little elevated above
the usual level of the water, are overflowed by every rise and may
be not only swampy but dotted here and there with ponds, some
of which are of quite large size. Sometimes these ponds unite,
retain a permanent connection with the stream and, at low water,
flow towards it with a slow current, forming what are called " run-
ning sloughs." Wherever the lowlands are flooded only at long
intervals, or only every spring, when the stream is at its highest
level, they are usually covered with forests which are made up of
trees of large size and are singularly free from undergrowth. In
midsummer, after the spring floods, when the ground has dried, a
carriage may be driven through these forests for miles with very
little inconvenience from bushes, or indeed from any obstacle. It
is not easy to imagine such forests as ever formed of young trees,
they seem to have always been large and old and stately as now.
True temples of nature are they — the ground smooth and turf-
covered as if carefully prepared for crowds of worshippers— the

grandly rugged columns of oak, maple, cottonwood, sycamore and
many others, reaching far up to the leafy arches of the roof— the
profound silence brooding over all, call the soul to humble adora-
tion of the great Father of all. Except the occasional chatter of a
squirrel, the tremulous, half frightened twitter of a bird, or the
monotonous hum of an insect, scarce a sound is heard above the
rustling of leaves, murmur of wind, or creaking of interlocking
branches, sounds all of them only serving to make the silence
seem the more profound. Undevout and inappreciative indeed
must be the heart that can resist the sombre fascination of such a
place, a place where, away from life's cares and vexations, away
from human influences, surrounded by majestic trees, whose huge
trunks by their ribbed and seamed sides tell of centuries of
growth, while their tops, green and leafy, declare that the mystery
of life and growth still goes on with unabated vigor, is found
closest communion and fullest sympathy with nature. But there
are broad tracts too wet to afford a suitable soil for the growth of
forests. In such places only groves or belts of woodland are
found. These cover the higher portions of land, while all around
are wide marshes covered with tall reeds, sedges and grasses, and
lowest parts filled by ponds.

After the high water of spring has subsided, the ponds are bord-
ered by a belt of mud or sand, over which crawl hosts of Palu-
dinas, Lymnteas, Physas, and other "snails," while just below the
water's edge the more strictly aquatic Unios, Anodontas, Planorbis
and the like are equally abundant, so that these places offer great
attractions to the conchologist.

Although I have collected fresh water shells in many localities,
I have never secured so rich a harvest of some of the larger spe-
cies as in some of these sloughs. And specimens are not only
abundant, but of large size and with unusually bright colors. Nor
are these localities less inviting to the ornithologist. Quite a
number of species of birds find in them a congenial home and
abundant food, ducks in the water, and plovers, herons and the
like along the margins of the ponds, and in the rank growth of
sedges and grasses, or the copses of button-bush which afford
them shelter, many a thrush and warbler, while over all, like an
untoward fate, hovers the bird of prey. Passing these attractions,
interesting as they are, without further notice, let us now devote

3s*

THE VEGETATION OP THE ILLINOIS LOWLANDS.

ourselves to a study of the botanical characteristics of the region.
From early summer until late autumn many a rare and beautiful
flower is here seen. Perhaps the finest display is in late summer,
when, over the higher borders of the marshes, where the lowland
rises to meet the upland prairie, grow hosts of purple phloxes,
mints, pentstemons and many other species, while here and there,
towering high over all the rest, are seen superb clusters of the
rose-pink Spiraea lobata, well called " queen of the prairie." On
lower ground and in more moist soil, are several species of ger-
ardia with rose-purple flowers, some of the more delicate bei
ceedingly graceful, the whole plant covered with beautifully tinted
flowers, being an airy panicle of bloom. Other species with yel-
low flowers and of less graceful habit are found on drier ground
With these charming plants are found blue lobelias, purplish 01
blue veronicas, white chelone and a large representation of poly
gonums or knot-grasses, with flowers of crimson, rose, white oi
greenish hues, most of them neither very attractive nor conspicu-
ous individually, but when growing in masses the effect is often
very pleasing, and in the case of Polygonum ampMbium even
brilliant, its deep crimson wands making many a pool bright and
beautiful. Much taller than these are the umbelliferse, some spe-
cies of which rival small trees in size, the white flower clusters
standing seven or eight feet above the ground. Not infrequently
from some darker, shadier nook flashes the brilliant red of the
cardinal flower, while just above the smaller herbs, sometimes like
a cloud of variegated mist, wave the panicles of purplish, yellow-
ish or greenish grasses and sedges, the light green of the wild rice
being often especially noticeable. In the water, besides many of
the grasses and sedges, are found pennywort, several species of
ranunculus, sagittaria, pontederia, lemna, azolla, peltandra, beauti-
ful pond lilies, which seem to attain their largest size in this re-
gion, and many other plants of similar habit. Among these
smaller species, or by itself alone, grows the great nelumbium,
giant among our aquatic plants, of interest because of its kinship
with the Egyptian lotus. This covers many acres, often extend-
ing for several miles in great patches. The large cream-colored
corollas, standing often five or six feet above the water, arc very
conspicuous and attractive, as are also the leaves, their great
disks, one to two feet in diameter, l\in<r on the surface of the

water or raised somewhat above it. The upper surface of these
leaves is of the most exquisitely shaded, velvety green, with which
the much lighter shade of the under side contrasts in a most
pleasing manner. Iu the fall the flowers give place to the huge
conical seed cases, holding in cup-like depressions on the flat up-
per surface acorn-like seeds, which, in days gone by, furnished an
important article of food to the Indians. Not infrequently small
flocks of ducks are seen leisurely filing in graceful curves in and
out of this lily forest, and more rarely a solitary blue or white
heron stands dreamily gazing into the water, or lazily wings his
way to the distant wood. But few song-birds are found in mid-
summer in the immediate vicinity of the large ponds, though more
common a little way from them, and often the silence is almost as
complete here as in the great forests, the only sounds, perhaps,
being the harsh call of a hawk or the sudden splash of a water rat
or large turtle. If a knoll or other elevated position can be gained
a wild scene often lies before the observer. All around him as far
as the eye can reach lies the seemingly boundless sea of waving
grass, the undulating surface only interrupted now and then by
rounded clumps of the glossy-leaved button-bush (Cephalanthus),
or more rarely by the tall form of a cotton-wood or other tree,
while in the far distance the sky meets the moving surface, or a
belt of trees forms a dark wall which limits the view, except where
there are breaks through which are glimpses of the same billowy
expanse stretching on and on indefinitely.

The state of Illinois extends from north to south over three
hundred and eighty miles, and for this reason would naturally be
expected to produce a very varied flora, as it certainly does both
as to tree and herb.

In one of his works Humboldt mentions the tropical appearance
of the forests of the Mississippi valley, due to the frequent occur-
rence of pinnate-leaved trees, and the palmate-leaved trees add
greatly to the same effect.

In many of the forests there is a very noticeable absence of the
higher cryptogams, such as ferns, club-mosses and mosses. Occa-
sionally a great profusion of these plants is seen, but often one
may ride for hours through rich, damp woods without seeing alto-
gether more ferns than could easily be held in the hand, and the
bright, rich green of mossy bank or moss-covered rock or log is not

390

THE VEGETATION OF THE ILLINOIS LOWLANDS.

often seen. It is not improbable that the germs, or young plants
of these tribes are washed away and destroyed by the often recur-
ring freshets, especially by the spring floods, but they are absent
not only from the lowland forests, but as well from those on the
uplands where no freshet ever comes. Here the drouth of summer
may destroy them as too much moisture does in the lowlands. If
we study the trees alone we find that the entire state affords not
far from a hundred distinct species and varieties, besides about one-
fourth as many shrubs. It would be out of the question to men-
tion more than a few of the more important species here. Of the
maples, the sugar and the silver, or white, are abundant, and of
large size, sometimes reaching a height of a hundred and fifty
feet and a diameter of eight or ten feet.

The red maple so common in New England very rarely occurs
wild in Illinois, so far as I can ascertain. The oaks are repre-
sented by at least fifteen species and varieties, and in many places
form the greater part of the forests and in new settlements they
furnish most of the building material in place of the lacking pine
and spruce. Of this tribe the most abundant and widely distrib-
uted are the white, red, and black oaks. The bur, swamp and
post oaks, are common in some localities, as are the pin oak,
chestnut oak and laurel oak, though they do not seem to be as
universally common over the state as the three species first named.
The scarlet oak and Spanish oak are probably the least common,
except Lea's oak which occurs in Fulton county and perhaps else-
where. Both species of Nyssa found in the Northern States are
common in Southern Illinois but not elsewhere. The pawpaw,
persimmon and pecan are found more or less abundantly over the
southern two-thirds of the state, the first species occurring as a
second growth sometimes in considerable quantity. There are sev-
eral species of trees which are found either alone or in small groups
or along the edges of groves, but they very rarely form groves
by themselves. Those of this class which are most commonly
found upon moist ground are, the honey locust, beautiful in form
and foliage, at a distance one of the most attractive of trees, but
hideous often for its huge clusters of thorns; the box-elder, or
ash-leaved maple, with drooping branches that in large, solitary
trees sometimes almost touch the ground, and in one or two such
specimens I have seen almost perfectly regular domes, the base of

each nearly touching the ground ; the buckeyes, which are very
beautiful trees, the black walnut, butternut, and larger than any of
those mentioned, rivalling the very largest of all our trees, the syca-
more and tulip-trees, and more rarely in the southern part of the
state two small trees, the two species of Bumelia or southern buck-
thorn. Besides the maples and oaks some of the largest trees found
in Illinois are the cotton-wood, linden, red, green, blue, white and
black ash, wild cherry, the various species of Carya, the American
and red elm and some others. Many of these trees are found of
very much larger size than is common in our New England forests,
especially such as grow on the bottom lands. Here maples, syca-
mores, cotton woods, etc., from a hundred to a hundred and fifty
feet in height, and six to ten feet diameter at the ground are not
uncommon, and now and then these dimensions are considerably
exceeded. Even the sassafras, which in New England is a small
tree, sometimes grows to a height of seventy feet. This species
I have seen spring up as a second growth and so completely cover
several acres as to exclude almost every other tree or shrub. The
willows are well represented all over the state, though I have never
seen them covering very wide tracts, as in some parts of the
country. ^ Both on the lowlands along the borders of small

in similar localities clumps of wild apple are found. Both of these
trees are very beautiful when in bloom, especially when together,
the pure white of the plum and the pink of the apple blending
finely while the delicious fragrance of the latter perfumes the air
far and near. The birch, so commonly found in New England
woods, is rarely found in Illinois, and only one species, the red
birch, is found at all. Evergreens, which constitute so marked a
feature in many landscapes, are often wholly wanting in Illinois
scenery. The red cedar is found sparingly in many parts of the
state, and on rocky ridges in the Northern counties the white
cedar grows. Sometimes, too, the white pine and dwarf juniper
are seen. One more species completes the list of conifer*, the
bald cypress, which grows along the Ohio and Mississippi, in the
Southern counties where it occupies great swamps, its straight
trunk towering for a hundred and fifty feet above the ground.
This tree is very valuable for timber, though from its habits and

place of growth it is not as easily obtained in large quantities as
trees growing in drier soil, and without its sometimes almost im-
passible barricade of roots, arching and twisting above the surface
of the swamp, and amid these the massive trunks of fallen trees.

Grand indeed are many of these old trees in their rugged bark
and the green and gray of moss and lichen, while some are not
only grand but very beautiful as they are overhung with delicate or
heavy arabesques of clinging vines that sometimes hide completely
the rudeness of their support, and sometimes but partly cover it,
while making that which is not concealed all the ruder as it con-
trasts with their own grace. There are many more species of
twining plants and vines growing wild in Illinois than in New
England, and, as with the trees, so with the vines, our familiar
friends are so large and luxuriant that we scarcely recognize them.
The poison ivy, Virginia creeper, or woodbine, and wild grape are
all found there and are largest of the vines. They

pletely cover, not only 1

as well,

tightly embracing their support as to destroy it.
They reach the very top of the highest trees, and are found with
stems a foot or more in diameter near the ground. Not alw
do these climbers cover and destroy green and
their fullest beauty is reached as they drape the naked, seared
trunk from which life has long since gone, thus changing the mi-
sightly and uncouth into noble shafts of living green.

Beside*

these giant vines there are many smaller and more delicate. »o me
of these, as the wild yam, moonseed, hop, four or five species of
smilax, or greenbrier, and other allied forms which are beautiful
for the green of their foliage and attractive mode of growth, but
with inconspicuous flowers, fill many a thicket with masses of tan-
gled cords. Others have the double beauty of foliage and flowers,
the grace of pendant branch and twining stem being completed in
the more splendid charm of clusters of flowers. Chief of these,
as it is chief of all our native vines, is the Wistaria, found native
in Southern Illinois. Superb is this vine when of large size and
in the full glory of bloom, the large clusters of rich purple flowers
hanging thickly over the soft green of the leaves. Yet more
showy, though less elegant, is the Bignonia, or trumpet creeper, as
its clusters of orange buds and flowers gleam like some bright

fruit from amid the branches of a tail tree or, unexpectedly flash
out from the interlacing branches of the thickets in which it loves
so well to grow. Less showy climbers and of smaller size are
several species of clematis, the wild passion-flower, cypress,
morning-glory, and all the rest, each with its own peculiar beauty
of flower or leaf, sometimes growing alone, sometimes intertwined
about the same tree with several others, uniting their various hues,
the charms of each brightened by those of the others and all
•iegated, harmoniously tinted mass delightful to see.

t all nature's influences incline to
be more fascinating than the wild
regions of which we have been speaking. More than elsewhere in
the shaded walks of the ancient forests, is there a coolness and
freshness most grateful to the body, and a freedom from care, a
retirement and a restfulness, as grateful and soothing to the mind.
Not those who have flitted hither and thither over the railroads of
the West, not even those who have sailed on its great rivers, have
an adequate idea of the peculiar modes in which nature expresses
herself in those regions, but only to those who have, alone and on
foot, wandered for miles and miles amid the forests, over the
plains, through the marshes, held by the love of nature, is it given
to know her in her friendliest moods.

THE POTTERY OF THE MOUND BUILDERS.

Nos. 7759, 7760, 7787, 7788, 7789, 7790, 7791 and 7792 are
water jars of various sizes and shapes, as shown in the four figures
illustrating this group. 7759 dirfers from the others by being con-
stricted in its upper portion. The neck of this jar is not preserved,
but was probably like the restoration given in the figure. The
diameter of greatest bulge of this vessel is from 6 to 6-2 inches.
The constricted portion is about 3-3 in diameter, and the upper
bulge is -5 of an inch more than the constricted part. The
present height (without the neck) is 5-5 inches.

395

with a small sized neck. This jar is 8-3 in height, and has i
greatest diameter 6 4 inches from the bottom.

No. 7788 has a diameter of 7 inches and is 8-5 inches high. N
7790 is 6-5 high by about 4-9 in diameter. No. 7792 is the smallc
and most rudely made: it is 3-5 high by 2-9
neck is 1-8 long and the diameter of the mouth
is about 1 inch. Nos. 7739, 7740, 7753, 7757,
7758, 7793, 7794, 7795, 779G, 7797, 7798, 7799
are all spherical vessels with short necks and
moderately sized mouths and are of various
sizes. Nos. 7753, 7795, and 7798 are figured
and show the variation in the pattern.

No. 7753 differs from the rest in having
been colored red, and in having the bulging portion slightly
dented so as to divide the sides into four slightly marked portior

This vessel is 3-3 inches high, 4 inches in its greatest diameb
and 2-4 across the mouth which has a slightly turned lip.

No. 7740 is of similar shape and size to this, but has the si
face divided into six projections instead of four. The lips of tl

No. 7798 is not as well made as the others, the clay not ha

396 THE POTTERY OF THE MOUND BUILDERS.

that fact. It is one of the smallest of the collection and the neck is
without a turned lip. It is 3-6 inches in height by 3-4 in diameter.

No. 7795 is a nearly symmetrical vessel, made of the fine clay
of which many of the articles are composed. It is 6-8 to 6-9
inches in its greatest diameter, 6-9 inches high, and 3-4 across
the mouth. This vessel is slightly flattened at its base.

No. 7794 is the largest of the series, and is from 8-1 to 8-3 in
diameter by 7-8 inches in height.

Nos. 7741, 7742, 7752 and 7754 are small vessels of the shape
shown in the figures. 7742 might, from its finish and shape, be
well classed as a drinking cup. It is 2-9 inches in height by 3 6 in
greatest diameter, and about 3 inches across the mouth, the lip of

No. 7741 is not as symmetrical a vessel as the last mentioned,
and has considerably thicker walls. It is about 3-6 inches high
and about 5-3 in diameter with an uneven mouth about 3'5 inches

No. 7754 is a roughly made little cup, quite thick and only par-
tially baked, about 2-6 inches high and with its greatest diameter
equal to the height.

C SL

No. 7752 is another small cup about the size of 7754 but more
si lm i al in shape and having a hole near its mouth, as shown in
the figure. The opposite portion of the mouth is broken, but it is
probable that a corresponding hole existed there, and that these

3;»7

holes were for the purpose of suspending the cup. This perforated
cup naturally leads to the next group of vessels, or pots with han-
dles, of which class there are several of various sizes, with slight
variation in finish and ornamentation.

Nos. 7763, 7778 and 7780 are the three largest pots, and are
without ornamentation. Nos. 7763, and 7778 have the surface
divided into six even portions by slight depressions. Nos. 7780
and a smaller pot, No. 7779, are perfectly plain and with even sur-
faces. No. 7767 is a smaller pot, of the character of 7763, with
its surface divided into six portions. No. 7769 is a small vessel,

smooth on its sides, but with its lips marked by small oblique
lines cut in the clay. No. 7770 is ornamented by a row of small
depressions, as if made with a pointed stick while the clay was
soft. No. 7771 is a little more elaborate in its ornamentation, the
punctures extending down the sides in groups which are enclosed
in lines cut into the clay. By the side of the figure of this pot
is placed a figure of one of somewhat similar ornamentation, but
which does not seem to be now with the collection, unless in frag-

No. 7800 is a large pot (now in fragments) ornamented in a

No. 7768 is a small pot with eight handles. These handles ex-
tend from the lip to a projecting ridge round the pot as shown in

;he figure, and this ridge is ornamented by vertical lines,
nade with the thumb nail while the clay was soft.
The following table gives the dimensions of these seve

No. 7763. Height 6 inches ; greatest dia

agrees with the ]
two flanges or kr
h 'gh, 5-8 in diam
its mouth.

400

Nos. 7715, 7720, 7733 and 7737 are all of the same character,
but of various sizes and depths, and are of No 7715

solid make. No. 7715 is the best finished
and most symmetrical of the lot, and also
the smallest, being but 2-4 inches in depth
by 3-6 in diameter across its mouth which
is its widest part. No. 7733 is 2 inches
high and 4-5 in diameter. No. 7720 is 2-7 high by 4-6 in diameter.
No. 7737 is of the same height as the last, but measures 5-2 in

No 7717 Of the same character of

Is with those last de-
scribed are the « head dishes,"
which one of the knobs is
made in the form of the head
>me animal, or repre-
sents the human head, more
less perfectly moulded in
e clay. No. 7717 is the
most rude attempt to repre-
sent a bird's head, and is similar to that from the Big Mound
figured under No. 7824. Nos. 7714, 7718 and 7719 are unmis-
takable representations of the heads of ducks. No. 7723 has

r

from the others in having t

be noticed that in all the instances where the human head is rep-
resented the face looks into the dish while all the birds' heads,
and the head of the mammal, look outwards. (No. 7717 has the
appearance of looking into the dish, but this rude head has a

portion broken from the outside which probably would have
better represented the bill of a bird pointed that way.)

The several most perfect of these head dishes measure as fol-
lows, the first figure representing the height, and the second, the
diameter, across the opening: No. 7730, 4-7 by 9 inches; No.
7718, 3-8 by 8-5 inches; No. 7717,3-5 by 7-6 inches; No. 7719,
4-2 by 7-6 inches ; No. 771 G, 3-2 by 6-8 inches ; No. 7743, 3-1 by
7-8 inches ; No. 7723, 3-1 by 3-5 inches.

Col. Foster, on p. 246 of his work (reproduced here on p. 407),
figures a " drinking cup" from a stone grave in Perry County, Mo.
This cup is of the same design and pattern as No. 7730, am! it may
not be venturing too much if we conclude, from this very peculiar
form of pottery, that the same race made the article found in tb<
ancient cemetery of Perry County and those found in the mound m
New Madrid in the same State. If this should be substantiated
by further evidence we shall have the means of identifying the
general cemeteries of the moundbuilders, or, at least, of that par-
ticular race who erected the mounds of the southwest. It has
long been urged that the moundbuilders must have had other
depositories for their dead than the mounds themselves, for, as
numerous as the latter are, they do not often contain more than

character.

Xo 7gl5 Among the numerous fragments of

^^■^ ^^V^ in S are s P eciall y interesting : No. 7828,

^BBjP ^ jjN^ portions of a small vessel that stood on
^Bk { M three short spherical hollow legs. This

W vessel is ornamented with stripes of

red. No. 7755 is, probably, a leg of a
similar vessel but of a larger size and not colored. No. 7826
consists of fragments of shallow dishes, colored red. Nos. 7802
and 7808, probably portions of the same vessel, represent a pot,
of about the shape of No. 7762,
that had evidently been used to
hold the red paint with which

ored.

This last cut was received with
the collection, but the vessel which
it represents is either among the fragments and beyond recogni-
tion or was not received with the rest of the specimens.

Prof. Swallow concludes his account of the mounds he exam-
ined about New Madrid as follows .—

" These mounds appear very ancient. Soil has formed on them
to the depth of three feet. The largest trees grow on them and
the connected embankments, or levees.

" A sycamore twenty-eight feet in circumference three feet above
the ground, a black walnut twenty-six feet in circumference, a
Quercus falcata seventeen feet, a white ash twelve feet, and a
chestnut oak eleven feet in circumference were observed on these
mounds and atv

" The six feet of stratified sands and clays formed around the
mounds since they were deserted, the mastodon's tooth found in
these strata, and other facts indicate great age. These six feet
of thin strata were formed after the mounds, and before the three
feet of soil resting alike on the mounds and on these strata.

" There are numerous mounds in this Swamp country. I saw one
in Pemiscot county thirty-five feet high, elliptical (longer axis N.
and S.), one hundred and ninety-five feet long on top and one hun-
dred and fifty feet wide. This mound is part <3f a large system of

406

earthworks ; there is a square about one thousand feet on each side
surrounded with a line of earthworks or embankments several feet
high, and the whole area is filled in about ten feet. In the area are

feet high. There are also several basins in the area, circular and

fifty feet wide and twelve fret deep. The large mound mentioned
was cracked open by the earthquake, as was very obvious when I
visited it.

" Col. J. H. Walker, who was a youth of sixteen years at the
time of the earthquake, showed me the mound in 1 *.")(>, and also
many large cracks produced by the earthquake. One of these
cracks ran through this large mound. Col. Walker told me : —This
crack was opened by the severe shock of Dec. 11,1811. It made
a wide gap through the mound from top to bottom. He [Walker]
went into it and saw at bottom about twenty feet of bones, some
human, some fish, and some of other animals. Above the hones
was a coat of plastering made of clay, cane and grass from five to
thirteen inches in thickness. Col. Walker was a leading man in
that country, well known all over the state, and was deemed very
reliable,"

(408)

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN INDIANA
AND KENTUCKY. 1

412 ARCHiEOLCNJICAL explorations

the ribs of one of the skeletons obtained, there is some ground
for the belief that it may have been the burial place of the victims
of a battle on this "dark and bloody ground." Further study

the race to which they belong. Several crania, a number of other
parts of human skeletons, and numerous bones of animals were
obtained from this cave. The crania are all of the same char-
acter, having quite flat frontal bones and a deep depression ju>t
back of the coronal suture, and they are quite different from those
of the dry caves, which are high and full in the frontal region.
The tibise in both lots show various degrees of flattening.

That some of the caves were used as places of, at least,
temporary residence, was conclusively shown by my exploration

in American archaeology. This cave, in many respects, ap-
proaches the Mammoth Cave in the size of its avenues and

and lights. For the latter purpose, small piles of stones were

of dried fagots perhaps smeared with grease. Bundles of these
fagots, tied up with twisted bark, were found in several places
in the cave; and canereeds, probably the remains of ancient
torches of the same character with those found in the Mammoth,
Short, and Grand Avenue Caves, were also very abundant.

The most important discovery in this cave, 'however, was made
in a small chamber, about three miles from the entrance, first
noticed by my guides, Messrs. Cutlip and Lee. On the dry soil
of the floor were to be seen the imprints of the sandalled feet
of the former race who had inhabited the cave, while a large
number of cast off sandals were found, neatly made of finely
braided and twisted leaves of rushes.

A number of other articles were collected here, and were as fol-
lows : a small bunch of the inner bark of some tree, evidently pre-
pared for use in the manufacture of an article of dress ; several
small lots of bark not quite so fine as that composing the bunch :
a piece of finely woven cloth of bark, over a foot square, showing
black stripes across it where it had been dyed, and also specially
interesting in exhibiting the care which had been taken in darn-
ing, or mending a portion of it ; a small piece of finely made

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

Chemical and Geological Essays. 1 — The manifest tendency
of modern scientific researches and investigations is toward a uni-
fication of the sciences, an I the volume forming the subject of

and excellent text-books of geology as studied from the stand-
points of physics and biology ; but, with the exception of Bischof s
treatise on chemical geology, which appeared nearly a generation
ago, this is the nearest approach to a complete exposition of the
intimate relations and interdependence of geology and chemistry

Tlie work comprises twenty of the author's chief scientific me-
moirs, which have been published at different times during the past
twenty-five years. They treat of questions in chemistry, and
chemical and dynamical geology, and, to quote from the preface,
"cover nearly all the more important points in chemical geology."

velopcd in these memoirs have been connected with the hypoth-
esis of a cooling globe and with certain views of geological dy-
namics, making together a complete scheme of chemical and physi-
cal geology, the outlines of which will be found embodied in Es-
says I to XIII." Essays XIV and XV are chiefly historical, while
the five brief papers which conclude the volume are devoted to the
discussion of questions in theoretical chemistry and mineralogy.

In addition to the development of his own ideas, Dr. Hunt has
in general given us the results achieved by his co-laborers, so that
the work is in truth a fair representation of the present state of
the science. Several of the more recently developed of our au-
thor's views, as those concerning the use of lithologic data as a
basis t ,i chronologh distinctions, md his the on of cycles n >< li-

nimeralogieal data forming the basis of these hypotheses, however,

abled to form an intelligent judgment concerning the truth of
these hypotheses.

Essay XV on the " History of the names Cambrian and Silurian

117

in Geology," is a very valuable contribution to the history of the
science ; and its value will increase with time. It throws a flood
of light on points of great perplexity for the student ; and Dr.

first complete recognition of the claims of Sedgwick, from the pen
of one well qualified to write the history of that painful contro-
versy, and it is to be hoped that the time is not very remote when
geologists will generally refuse to recognize the unwarrantable
usurpations of Murchison.

Some little repetition has arisen from printing the essays in
their original forms, but this could not be avoided, since the au-
thor wished to preserve a certain historic value which attaches to
the papers, and which would have been lost by a change of forms

A conious index and table of contents add much to the useful-

Check List op North American Ferns. 1 — This is a very
neatly gotten up 8vo pamphlet, printed on excellent paper on one
side of the sheet so as to admit of its being cut for herbarium
labels. The specimens are numbered with the same numerals, and
the nomenclature substantially agrees with that of Horace Mann's
catalogue. I submit a few criticisms on Mr. Robinson's work.
"3677 a Notholama Newberryi, Eaton, n. sp." The letter follow-
ing a duplicate should be b, the letter a being commonly under-
stood as applicable to the first occurrence of a number or name.
"D. C. Eaton is given as the authority to other species, the infer-
ence being that there are two Eatons, both fern authors, whereas
there is but one, the well known New Haven Professor. All her-
barium labels and catalogues also for that matter, should have the
reference as well as the author. If the original work be not ac-
cessible to the compiler then let the reference be to the work from
which he quotes. Such a course clears up doubts, prevents blun-
ders, and would here have been particularly useful in the cases of
Prof. Eaton's new species. No European author quotes "3763
Woodsia obtusa Torrey" (always Hooker), for the reason that his
catalogue, published in 1840, is unknown there, and is never quoted
in American floras. If Mr. Robinson had referred to the Synopsis

418 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

Filicum he would not have written "3780 Botrychium, virginicum
Swartz, that author and his predecessor Linne having written
virginianum. It is difficult to understand upon what principle au-
thor's names have been attached to varieties. " Aspidium aculea-
tum Var., Braunii, Koch" may be correct so far as it goes, as
correct as if Mr. Robinson had attached Eaton's, A. Wood's, or
his own name as the authority, but a reference to Koch's flora
would have shown that that author simply quoted Doll who reduced
Spinner's A. Braunii to a variety of A. aculeatum. So also of
"Aspidium spinulosum Var., dilatatum Gray," the fact (if I may
use the word in this sense) was published by Roth in 1797, and the
name by Hornemann in 1827. In two other cases Mr. Robinson
has gone to the opposite and more misleading extreme, "Aspidium
cristatum Var., Floridanum Hooker," and "Aspidium spinulosum
Var., intermedium Willdenow." These authors described the
plants as good species ; Professor Eaton reduced them to varie-
ties, and should have been quoted as the authority in accordance
with the "laws of botanical nomenclature" adopted by Mr.
Robinson.

3745c. Var. Boottii is the correct orthography, the plant having
been named by Prof. Tnckerman after the late Mr. William Boott.
The arrangement of B. Ternatum is not Swartz's, and scarcely
Milde's. The latter author combined three Swartzian species rut-
aceum Svensk. Bot. t. 372, fig. 2), lunarioides and ternatum under
Thunberg's oldest name thus —

" Botrychium ternatum (Thunb.) " » Milde Monog. Botrycb. p.
146 in Z. V. B."

" A. Europoeum " (Rabenhorst, No. 80). I have numerous American
species of this variety, the B. rutatfolium A. Br.

"B. Australasiaticum " (Kunze t. 155; Hook. Fl. Tasman. t. 169).
This is the true ternatum and is not N. American so far as I

Bernhardi's so-called genus Allosorus is here dropped in favor
of Gryptogramme ; Prof. Eaton would have done well to have
sent Cystopteris into limbo with it. Wliere space abounds au-
thor's names need scarcely be contracted.

We trust Mr. Robinson may find it necessary soon to issue a
second edition. — D. A. Watt.

BOTANY.

The Law of Embryonic Development in Animals and Plants.
— An article upon this subject in the American Naturalist for
May contains a hasty generalization, based upon pure assump-
tion, or upon insufficient data, and supported only by a false anal-
ogy. It opens with the startling proposition that "it is a well
known law in the animal kingdom, that the young or embryonic
state of the higher orders of animals resemble (sic) the full-grown
animals of the lower orders." If such a law had ever been dis-
covered to exist, the tadpole and the caterpillar, which are cited
in proof, would certainly be good illustrations of it. But this

the causes of the recent rapid progress in the study of the animal
kingdom," that no eminent living naturalist or biologist recognizes
the existence of such a law ; or at least no one of them gives a
hint of it in his writings.

Agassiz claimed that ancient animals resembled the embryos of
recent animals of the same class, and that the geological succes-
sion of extinct forms is parallel with the embryological develop-
ment of existing forms. But if this principle* be true, it is far
from meeting the requirements of the "law" of this article.

The writer of it may have had in his mind a vague idea of the
law of Von Baer, which is well known, and which has enabled nat-
uralists " to correct their systems of classification," viz. : " That,
in its earliest stages, every organism has the greatest number of
characters in common with all other organisms, in their earliest
stages." Or, to put it in language parallel to that of the "law"
of this article, false syntax excepted ; the embryonic state of the
higher orders of animals resembles the embryonic (not the full
grown) state of the lower orders. The germ of a human being
differs in no visible respect from the germ of every animal and
plant : it never resembles any full grown animal or plant. It suc-
cessively looses its resemblance to vegetable embryos, then to all
embryos but those of Vertebrates, then to all but those of Mam-
mals. Finally it resembles only the embryos of its own order,
Primates ; and at birth the infant is like the infants of all human
races. 1 But never at any period of its successive differentiations

isee Spencer's Biology, VoM. ~

420

does it resemble the adult form of fish, reptile, bird, beast, or
monkey.

The principle stated is not a law of the animal kingdom. If it
be a law at all, it is a newly discovered one, and applies only to
the vegetable kingdom.

The proposition to be established then is, that the young or
embryonic state of the higher orders of plants resembles the full
grown plants of the lower orders. The writer finds his first proof
in a comparison of the fovillae of a pollen grain with full grown
Desmidise. The points of resemblance are these : both are mi-
aimless motion. Surely, these resemblances are not numerous or
striking enough to found a law upon ; and if they were, they have
not the remotest bearing upon the supposed law. Admitting that
the fovillse "may be regarded as one of the first steps towards the
reproduction of plants of the highest type," yet they are not in
any sense a young or embryonic form of a plant. The fovillse con-
stitute the male element, and are homologous, not to the embryo,
but to the spermatozoa of animals. The supposed analogy between
a Protococcus and a pollen grain is open to the same criticism.
Nor is the correspondence between a full grown Botrydium and a
pollen tube of greater value. A pollen tube cannot, in any legiti-
mate sense, be called embryonic. The superficial resemblance of
a mould fungus to a stamen, is obvious enough ; but in reality no
analogy can exist between them. The spores of the mould are
embryos, and will develop, under favorable circumstances, into
mould again. But pollen grains are not embryos, and never,
under any circumstances, grow into what, by any stretch of terms,
can be called a new plant. Neither stamens nor pollen constitute
a part of the embryo ; and no analogy drawn from them can have
any bearing upon the laws of embryonic development. If such a
law as the writer claims really exist, it must be found by study-
ing the development of the ovule, the true homologue of the ani-
mal embryo. In view of such facts, all "similar analogies" and
all similar "proofs of the unity of design of the Creator" may be
easily dispensed with.

The article proposes to extend the domain of a certain supposed
law of the animal kingdom, so as to include the vegetable king-
dom also. It has been shown, First, that no such law exists in
the animal kingdom ; Second, that not a single fact cited as prov-

ing it to be a law of the vegetable kingdom has the remotest bear-
ing upon the question. If such hasty conclusions as these, wildly
jumped at from no data, are to be allowed under the name of
Science, her students will richly deserve all the ridicule and sar-
casm which a certain class are so fond of pouring upon them. —
Chas. R. Dryer, Phelps, Ontario County, JV. Y., May 12, 1875.

Coreopsis discoidea spontaneous in Connecticut. — Ad-
joining our cow-pasture is a piece of woodland of about four
acres, with beech, birch, chestnut, oaks, etc., growing on it. It
is level but has several depressions which form shallow ponds
containing water most of the year. In one of these, about a hun-
dred paces in circuit, grow button-bush, wild-rose sedges, cotton-
grass, sphagnum, grasses, at least three species of Bidens or
beggar-ticks and Coreopsis discoidea. I gathered flowers of the last
when just coming into blossom, supposing it to be the common
beggar-ticks, at the same time noticing its slender, delicate habit,
so unlike the coarse weed of our fields. But, on examining the
young ovaries, I could see no sign of the retrorse bristles on their
awns, which the achenia of Bidens should have. I thought this
might be owing to their immature state. Moreover, on comparing
it with Coreopsis, I found it to agree with C. discoidea in every-
thing except the reflexed outer involucre which an old edition of
Prof. Gray's Botany assigned to it. I sent a bit of it to him and
he pronounced it C. discoidea.

Just after this, I found, in the same place, a plant, very much
like the former ones, which had unmistakably the achenia of Bi-
dens frondosa, the ciliated outer involucral leaflets of the same, the
flower heads just perceptibly larger than those of the Coreopsis,
and the same delicate growth of the latter.

In the last edition of Prof. Gray's manual, he gives as one
character of the subsection * * * * "scales of the outer involu-
cre reflexed or spreading" without indicating to which of the four
species the reflexed involucre belongs. I did not observe any such
in the plants I gathered. The awns did not seem to me "stout"
and they were merely hispid rather than "upwardly barbed." —
Charles Wright, Wethersjkld, Conn.

Fertilization of Alpine Flowers bt Butterflies. — In the
ninth of a series of valuable papers communicated by Hermann
Muller, to "Nature," on the fertilization* of flowers by insects, he

422

shows that butterflies effect the cross-fertilization of Alpine orchids.
It seems that from twelve to fifteen per cent, of the orchids of the
lowlands are fertilized by Lepidoptera, while from sixty to eighty
per cent, of Alpine orchids are fertilized by the same kind of in-
sects. This corroborates, he says, his view that the predominant
frequency of butterflies in the Alpine region must have influenced
the adaptation of Alpine flowers.

Muller has also shown the wonderful modifications brought
about in the legs and mouth-parts of bees by their efforts in fertil-
izing flowers.

ZOOLOGY.

On the Development of the Nervous System in Limulus. 1 —
After a good many unsuccessful attempts at discovering the first
indications of the nervous system in the embryo of Limulus, I at
length, in making fine sections, with the aid of the skill of Prof. T.
D. Biscoe, discovered it in a transverse section of an embryo in an
early stage of development, corresponding to that figured on plate
iv, fig. 10, of my essay on the Development of Limulus Polyphe-
mus in the Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History.
The period at which it was first observable was posterior to the first
blastodermic moult, and before the appearance of the rudiments
of the limbs. The primitive band now surrounds the yolk, being
much thicker on one side of the egg than on the other, the limbs
budding out from this disk-like thickened portion which represents

was observed it was entirely differentiated from the nervous layer
proper, and in section and relation to the nervous layer appeared
much as in Kowalevsky's figure (33) of the germ of Hydrophilus
(Embryologische Studien an Wurmen und Arthropoden, 1871).

At a later stage in the embryo, represented by PI. V, fig. 1 6 in
my Memoir, at a period when the body is divided into a head and
abdomen, and the limbs are longer than before, by a series of sec-
tk>n> parallel with the under surface of the body, I couM mak>'
out quite satisfactorily the general form of the main nervous cord.
It then forms a broad thick mass, the two cords being united, with

segments and situated between the primitive ganglionic centres.

423

The nervous cord, as in the Acarina, is formed long before the
other internal systems of organs ; the development of the dorsal
vessel some time after succeeding that of the nervous cord, while
the alimentary canal is not formed until some time after the larva
is hatched.

The next stage observed, and one of exceeding interest, was
studied in longitudinal sections of the larval Limulus. If we
make a longitudinal section of the young king crab when a
little over an inch long, the disposition of the cephalothoracic
portion of the cord is exactly as in the full-grown individuals.
The nervous ganglia are then united into a continuous nervous
collar surrounding the oesophagus, no ganglionic enlargements
being observed, the collar in fact consisting entirely of ganglia,
the commissures being obsolete ; in front of the oesophagus and
in the same plane as the oesophageal collar lies the supraoesopha-
geal-ganglion, or so-called brain ; not as usual in the normal Crus-
tacea, raised above the mouth into the roof of the head. On the
contrary, the oesophagus passes behind the brain and through the
collar at a right angle to the plane of the oesophageal collar and
'^liii taken collectively. Now a section of the larva before
moulting shows a most important and interesting difference us re-
gards the ganglia which supply nerves to the appendages of the
, '»'l»lia]"tliora\. These are entirely separate, the spaces between
them, where they are connected by commissures, being as wide as
the ganglia themselves are thick. Five ganglia were observed
corresponding to five anterior pairs of members. It is probably
not until after the first moult at least that the adult form of the.
nervous cord is attained.

Some interesting questions in the morphology of Limulus arise

of Limulus differs remarkably from that of the normal cnistacea,
i.e., the Decapods, in sending off no antennal nerves, but only
two pairs of optic nerves, there being in fact in Limulus no anten-

system only resembles that of Limulus in the thoracic and cepha-

424

bles. The general analogy in the form of the anterior portion of
the nervous cord to the Arachnidan, by no means proves satisfac-
torily to my mind that the Limulus and Merostomata generally
are Arachnida, as some authors insist, for, besides the remarkable
difference in the form and position of the supraoesophageal gan-
glion above mentioned, there are other differences of much impor-
tance, which separate the Merostomata from both the Arachnida
on the one hand, and the Crustacea on the other.

It will now be a matter of interest to study the development of
the nervous cord in the Arachnida, at the stage where the cephalo-
thoracic ganglia are separate and compare them with the same
stage in Limulus.

The result may possibly show that the appendages of the an-
terior region of Limulus are in fact cephalic appendages or man-
dibles and maxilla? or maxillipeds, and in part truly thoracic ; as
in the spiders and scorpions the nerves to the maxilhe and legs
are distributed from a common cephalothoracic mass of concen-
trated ganglia. —A. S. Packard, Jr.

The Pine Snake. — As having some relation to the animosity
which this reptile is supposed by the old residents of the Pines to
bear towards the rattlesnake, I find an important observation
which I have made, not mentioned in the article of the January
number of the Naturalist. As there noted, the Pine Snake,
when alarmed or enraged, slowly inflates itself with air, thus
nearly doubling its normal size along its entire length, except the
tail. It then slowly expels the air with its own peculiar sound.
While thus blowing in anger, the tail is made to perform a singu-
lar part in this manifestation of rage. The horny tip, or four-
sided spike, is slightly elevated, and caused to vibrate with such
rapidity as to produce a little fan of light, about an inch in length.
Were this quadrangular spike a little flattened and constricted at
intervals, and raised a little higher when set in vibration, we should
have, with its buttons and functions, the true organ of the dreaded
rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus). The sight of this in motion is
certainly suggestive of the tail of a Crotalus in rudiment. If the
tradition of the Pine Snake's enmity to the rattlesnake be true,
it would not be the first instance of disagreement between

In this connection may be mentioned our reading a slip from a

425

western paper, in which was stated that one of our large innoxious
snakes was killed, which had swallowed a rattlesnake, except the
tail, which with its rattles projected from the mouth. The state-
ment lacked the mention of names, thus affording no clue for a

The old residents of the Pines say that the Pine Snake will fol-
low a person, but that if you approach the reptile, it will at once
turn to escape. This habit, indicating inquisitiveness and timid-
ity, Mrs. Mary Treat informs me that she has herself witnessed,
in the woods at May's Landing, N. J.

I have received statements from long residents which make it
highly probable that the Pine Snake lays its eggs in the sandy
soil, where it is dry, and of course somewhat higher than the
swamps and streams. Also, I believe that the skunk (Mejihitis
chinga) has much to do with keeping down the increase of Pituo-
phis, it being, in the Pines of New Jersey, somewhat expert in
finding, and voracious in devouring the eggs of this snake.

Desirous to know whether the Pine Snake does carry the vin-
dictiveness towards the rattlesnake imputed to it, and any other
facts that might help to a knowledge of the life-history of the
species, I would be glad to see notes on this subject contributed
to the Naturalist, either directly, or through the present writer. —
Samuel Lock wood, Freehold, N. J.

A Literary Gem. — In that comedy of errors which one C. G.
Giebel caused to be printed under the title of Thesaurus Ornithol-
ogia>— that treasury of blunders — it is hard to select the cham-
pion error. But the gem of this precious collection is perhaps at
p. 96, where we read : — " Lining, J., extract of a letter with his
answers to several queries sent to him concerning his experiments
of electricity with a kite (Falco).— PhOos. Transact. 1755, xlviii,
757."

Shade of Ben. Franklin ! — with a kite ! ! —Falco ! ! ! Why did
not the accurate and scholarly Giebel say Fqlco longicaudatus—
for the kind of "kites" referred to, as every little boy knows,
have several yards of tail ! This ornithological item is given under
head of « Anatomy and Physiology." We sighed, and mechani-
cally turned the leaves back to look under "B" for Burton's Anat-
omy of Melancholy, but the inconsistent Giebel had overlooked
this ; perhaps he thought his book sad enough already. We beg

120

to respectfully suggest the following ornithological titles for his

Thackeray, W. M. Adventures of Timothy Titmarsh (Parus
palustris).

Husband, A. Letter to his Little Duck (Anas) of a Wife
(sjwnsa), enquiring whether the Baby is still a Creeper (Certhia).
[N. B. If Dr. Giebel should be in doubt under which one of his
xxxiii headings this title should come, he might put it under
"Propagatio" or under "Monographs of Families."]

Policeman, A. On the Jayl-birds (Garrulus) and Gutter-snipes
(Scolopax gutturalis) of the metropolis ; or, how to go on a Lark
(Alauda).

Giebel, C. G. Ornithological evidences of Lunacy (Loon-icy,
Golymbusglacialis).

The European Cabbage Butterfly probably made its appear-
ance in the neighborhood of Cleavelaud, Ohio, during the season
of 1873, but its ravages did not attract special attention till the
summer of 1874, when many thousands of dollars were lost by
the wholesale destruction of cabbages and cauliflowers in this
section. We have also received notice of similar devastation
among these plants in Western Pennsylvania (1874), probably
caused by the larvae of this same insect pest. Fortu
vegetable gardeners, however, the active European p

ml, and scarcely less than ninety per

e of the

i or less completely filled
with individuals of the bronzen ichneumon-fly known as Pteromalv.s
puparum, either in the larval or pupa state. — T. B. Cojistock.

The Lark Bunting. — While with the Yellowstone Expedition
of 1873, under Gen. Stanley, I collected some material, amongst
which was a nest of the Lark bunting, Calamospiza bicolor
Bonap.), containing three eggs of the same, with one parasitic
egg, which I have every reason to believe was that of the Crow

. bird ( Mointhrus ,„,■,„•/* Suain-i,).

with the eggs of this

the Lark bunting sen

abated
to settle.

Tally found at the head-waters
of the various streams running either into the Heart or Big
Knife Rivers, in fact so close to the springs that in main places
the ground was moist. The nests which I found were generally
under or amongst tufts of grass, or other shrubs of a stunted

character. Mr. Allen, who accompanied us, has probably de-
-W. Hoffman, M.D.

GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY.

On the Order Amblypoda.— Prof. Cope recently read a paper
on the structure of the feet of Bathmodon, showing that they re-
sembled in many points those of the Elephants but differed in
others. He finds five toes on each foot, which are very short and
furnished with small transverse hoofs. The bones of the carpus
resemble closely those of Toxodontia. In the hind foot the
arrangement is like that of the Elephants except that the navic-
ular bone is withdrawn to the outer side so as to bring the cuboid
and one cuneiform bone into contact with the astragalus. On the
characters thus ascertained he based the definition of a new order
of mammals. The Amblypoda which presents two sub-orders, the
Pantodonta represented by Bathmodon, and the Dinocerata rep-
resented by Uintatherium.

ANTHROPOLOGY.

Perforation of the Humerus conjoined with platycnemism.
—Associated with that extreme development of platycnemism
discovered by the writer, some years ago, in the ancient mounds
on the Detroit and llouge Rivers, Michigan, he has found the per-
foration of the humerus. Allusion is made to that peculiarity of
the arm bone in which is presented a communication of the two
fossae at its lower end. It is difficult to arrive at the exact
amount of the percentage to which this prevails in these mounds ;
though there can be little doubt that at least 50 per cent, of the
humeri have this characteristic. This is of interest as being in
excess of that from the mounds in other parts of the country,
where it is calculated as being only 31 per cent. It is a character-
istic which, significantly enough, exists in the ape, pertains to the
negro in a large degree, while it is very rarely encountered in any
of the white races. ^ F E. S h at

of the humerus being a peculiarity of phitycueinie man, and states

428

that he does not think such a coincidence has been noticed else-
where. At any rate it has not been so absolutely established

Transitional states of the characteristic, if they may be so
called, are also seen in the Rouge River mound ; that is. instances
in which the communication between the fossa? is not quite com-
pleted, the dividing wall being reduced, in some cases to a very
thin partition, almost transparent. Even where the perforation is
accomplished, there is a great variation in the size of the aperture.
— Henry Gillman, Detroit, Michigan.

MICROSCOPY.

Atlas der Diatomaceen kunde.— By Adolf Schmidt, assisted
by Grundler, Grunow, Janesch, Weissflog and Witt. Publishing
in parts, each with four plates. To be completed in from twenty-
five to thirty parts. Three parts of this magnificent work have
been received. Each plate contains from fifteen to forty figures.
The plates are from photographs of original drawings, reproduced
by some one of the processes for copying photographs. It is said
that nine thousand drawings have been prepared for the work.
Size of the plates, fourteen by nine and one-half inches.

It seems to be the aim of the editors to give every known vari-
ation of each species of Diatom. For example, plate seven has
forty variations of the type Navicula Smithii Breb. = 3 r . eUiptka
W. S. Other genera and species are treated in the same manner.
Two plates with eighty-nine figures are devoted entirely to the
panduriform Navicula. The editors are the most renowned stu-
dents of this department of natural history in Germany, and the
work will be indispensable to all workers in this country, to
whom the writings of the German diatomists have been almost
inaccessible, scattered as they are among the German periodicals,
while for the bibliomaniac it will supply one of the great books of
the age. — C. S.

Measurement of Moller's Probe Platte. 1 — Mr. A. F. Dod,
Secretary of the Memphis Microscopical Society, Memphis,
nessee. Dear Sir: I have this day finished the measurement of
your probe-platte, No. 5S6. The first thirteen were measured
on the evening of March twenty-ninth, by lamp-light ; the rest

429

were measured, and the thirteenth was remeasured this morning
by sunlight. A heliostat was used to give a steady beam of light,
and blue glass to make it monochromatic. The index error of the
cobweb micrometer was redetermined for the occasion ; three ob-
servations gave F 9 T > A' A» revolutions respectively. This cor-
rection was applied in all the calculations. All measurements
were repeated ; all the striae measured were counted at least twice.
In the first five diatoms, as is well known, the stria? are not of
uniform fineness all over the surface of the frustule ; in these, one

noticed on the frustule ; and another was made on the same strice,
but at the point where they converge nearest to each other. Care
was taken not to be deceived by spectral lines. An immersion
sixteenth, by Tolles, having a maximum angle of 178 degrees, was

In case you should at any time require it, I can specify more in

I have given all the observations in order that by comparing them,
you may see, in the case of the coarse diatoms which are very
easy to measure, the amount of variation in coarseness on the
same frustule ; and, in case of the finer, which more easily admit
of some error in measurement, the degree of accuracy shown by
the accordance of different observations.

It is not till I shall have measured several copies of Moeller's
probe-platte, that it will be proper or worth while to make any de-
tailed comparisons of the results. It may, however, be remarked
that the two specimens of T. favus differ as much as nineteen or
twenty per cent. Two vary from fifteen to twenty per cent ; two
vary from ten to fifteen per cent ; six vary from five to ten per
cent; ten vary less than five per cent; as compared with my
probe-platte. The average variation between the measurements
of the corresponding diatoms of the two plates is six and nine-
tenths per cent ; the average of all the variations shows your
platte to have its frustrates five per cent, finer than mine. The
samples of Amphipleura pellucida on the two plates agree within
three and two-tenths per cent.— Very truly yours, Edward W.
Moklet, Hudson, 0., April 10, 1875.'

American Association. — A full representation of those inter-
ested in the microscope is especially desirable at the Detroit meet-
ing of the A. A. A. S., commencing on the 11th of next August,
as it is desired to take steps toward the organization of a Micro-
scopical Society, either as a separate society or club, or as a sub-
section of the large Association. There is a very general desire
for a society of American microscopists, and it is believed that
such a society can obtain general attendance from the whole

431

country only at the time and place of meeting of the A. A. A. Si,
to say nothing of the other very great advantages of meeting in
connection with that prominent organization.

NOTES.

The Boston Daily Advertiser, in a recent criticism on the
" Statement of the Theory of Education in the United States of
America," a pamphlet issued by the Bureau of Education in
Washington, offers the following forcible remarks, which illustrate
very fairly how favorably the educational ideas of our best scien-
tific men are received by the intelligent part of the community :

" Another point hinted at by the pamphlet is the excessive regard
paid to the text-book. The general system of instruction lays
special emphasis on the use of text-book's, and the prevalent ten-
dency is toward i; into the method of
using the printed page in the form of books and periodicals for
the purpose of obtaining information from the recorded experience
of his fellow-men. but "in many schools and systems of schools,
equal or greater stress is laid upon the practical method of con-
ducting investigations for tip »t ion and of origi-
nal discovery. We presume that the last clause, though rather
obscure, points at object lessons, field study and the use of the
laboratory, but the words employed elsewhere, "the prevailing
custom in American schools is to place a book in the hands of the
child when he first enters school, and to begin his instruction with
teaching him how to read," sufficiently express the fundamental
notion of practical education as it prevails in America. The omis-
sion, on the one hand, of a public Kindergarten as initiatory, and
the close succession of text-books in every department of study,
expose one evil in our system which is not likely to be eradicated
by any formal enactment or introduction of new systems, but only
by the gradual emancipation of the human mind from its present
subjection to the printing-press. The extent to which the present
system is carried is appalling when we consider it fairly. The
teacher is -in danger of being buried under the accumulation of
text-books; not only the whole field of experimental science is
still largely in bondage to the printed page, but the whole field of
scientific observation is in danger of being cultivated through the
medium of text-books which do not tend to lead the young student
to nature, but offer themselves as a substitute for nature. We
look indeed to natural science and natural history as the appointed
means for freeing the human mind in this direction. The teacher
who learns to instruct his classes by direct observation of nature
Will begin to apply the same principle in other departments of
study. English literature, for example, will be taught less by

132

The Bulletin of the U. S. Geological and Geographical Survey
of the Territories, F. V. Hayden in charge (No. 4, second series,
June 10, 1875), contains "Notes on the Surface Features of the
Colorado or Front Range of the Rocky Mts. ;" by F. V. Hayden,
illustrated with fine panoramic views of the Colorado Mountains.
"The Tertiary Physopoda of Colorado," by S. II. Scndder, and
"Outlines of a Natural Arrangement of the Falconidre," by Rob-
ert Ridgway, with numerous outline cuts. We hare also received
-a "Preliminary Map of Central Colorado, showing the region sur-
veyed in 1873-4," by Hayden's Geological and Geographical
Survey of the Territories.

The "Annual Record of Science and Industry for 1874," edited
by Spencer F. Baird, with the assistance of eminent men of sci-
ence, has recently been published by Harper & Brothers. It is a
large 12tm of 665 pages. This annual has met with the approval
of scientific as well as general students, and is the most reliable
and convenient book of the sort published in the language. Sev-
eral new features have been introduced, which make the present
volume still more useful than its predecessors.

In an article in the " American Journal of Science," for May,
"On Dr. Koch's Evidence with regard to the Coteraporaneity of
Man and the Mastodon in Missouri," Professor Dana, on a review
of the evidence, thinks there is sufficient reason for regarding Dr.
Koch's evidence very doubtful, but that future discoveries will es-
tablish man's contemporaneity with the mastodon, for he existed
in Europe long before the extinction of the American mastodon.

Sachs' elaborate and comprehensive "Text-book of Botany,
M..rph..l.^ir;d and Phy-dolo-ic-d, has been translated and anno-
tated by Alfred W. Bennett, assisted by W. T. Thiselton Dyer,
both excellent authorities. The work is published in sumptuous
styh- by Messrs. Macmillan. Price Si 2.50. Received from A. A.
Smith & Co., Salem. For sale by Lee & Shepard, Boston.

THE

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. IX. — AUGUST, 1875. — Wo. 8.

ALASKAN MUMMIES.

For nearly a hundred years it has been known, through the
quaint accounts of the early voyagers, that certain tribes of
southern Alaska preserved the bodies of their dead. Up to a
very recent period, however, no examples of this practice had
reached any ethnological museum, or fallen under the observation
of any scientific observer. When the territory was purchased,
had it continued as accessible as during 1868, it might have rea-
sonably been expected to attraet many investigators in Natural
History and Ethnology, whose chief difficulty would have been an
embarras de rickesse. But private interest and public indifference
united to seal it up from inspection. Naturalists generally are
less easily muzzled than poorly paid political appointees, and
hence the obstacles thrown in the way of exploration have been
so great that we can hardly wonder that so few have been able to
enter this rich and interesting field.

During the last four or five years, the investigations of M.
Alphonse Pinart, and of the writer, have spread among the resi-
dents of the territory some knowledge of the value attached to
the ethnological material which surrounds them, and to this fact
we owe the collection and preservation of much that is of interest.
Among other things which have come to hand in this manner are
the only specimens of Alaskan mummies extant.

434 ALASKAN MUMMIES.

The practice of preserving the bodies of the dead was in vogue
among the inhabitants of the Aleutian Islands and the Kadiak
archipelago at the time of their discovery, and probably had been
the custom among them for centuries. We find nothing of it on
the mainland. It is curious to trace the customs of the wild tribes
in this respect in connection with their external surroundings. In
the Chukchee peninsula on the Asiatic side of Bering Strait, there
is no soil in many places. The substratum of granitoid rock is
broken by the frost into hundreds of angular fragments, which are
covered with a thin coating of various mosses, which may be
stripped off in great pieces like a blanket. There are no trees
and but little driftwood. Burial is impracticable, cremation im-
possible, and the natives expose their dead on some hillside to the
tender mercies of bears, dogs and foxes.

In the Yukon valley at a short distance below the surface the
soil is permanently frozen, and excavation without iron tools ex-
tremely difficult. But timber abounds, and the bodies of the
dead, doubled up to economize space, are placed in wooden coffins
which are secured without nails and elevated above the surface of
the earth on four posts. To scare away wild beasts poles are
frequently erected around the coffin, bearing long strips of fur or
cloth which are agitated by the wind.

The poor and friendless may be simply covered with a pile of
logs, secured by heavy stones; but in general the method is afl
above. Various modifications are found in various localities ; the
coffin on the lower Yukon is sometimes filled in with clay, packed
hard ; and the Nowikakhat Indians sometimes place their dead
erect, surrounded by hewn timbers secured like the staves of a

On the islands the soil is unfrozen and there are no obstacles to
digging. But wood is only found on the shores, drifted by the
ocean currents, and usually not in large quantities. However
there are no wild animals to disturb the remains ; the beetling
cliffs which are found on every hand, shattered by frequent earth-
quakes, afford in the talus of broken rock at their bases, abundant
and convenient rock-shelters. Here the natural depositories exist,
of which the natives have availed themselves. On all these cus-
toms, originally prompted by the bare necessities of the case, the
slow development of sentiment and feeling (which undoubtedly
does take place in savage people, though we may not be able to

486

trace its growth) has grafted animistic ideas, and semi-religious
rites and ceremonies. Thus, the original utilitarianism is more or
less completely masked or concealed. It is a singular fact that
no people have ever adopted the plan of committing their dead to

Without attempting, at present, to trace the growth of the cus-
tom, I will briefly describe the method adopted by the Kaniag and
Aleut branches of the Eskimo stock, in preserving the dead.
The details are partly given in the older voyages ; and have been
confirmed and supplemented by an examination of a large number
of the mummies, and the traditions of the present natives.

The body was prepared by making an opening in the pelvic re-
gion and removing all the internal organs. The cavity was then
filled with dry grass and the body placed in running water. This
in a short time removed most of the fatty portions, leaving only
the skin and muscular tissues. The knees were then brought up
to the chin,. and the whole body secured as compactly as possible
by cords. The bones of the arms were sometimes broken to facil-
itate the process of compression. In this posture the remains
were dried. This required a good deal of attention, the exuding
moisture being carefully wiped off from time to time. When
thoroughly dried the cords were removed and the body usually
wrapped in a shirt, made of the skins of aquatic birds with the
feathers on, and variously trimmed and ornamented with exceed-
ingly fine embroidery. Over this were wrapped pieces of matting
made of Elymus fibre, carefully prepared. This matting varies
from quite coarse to exceedingly fine, the best rivalling the most
delicate work of the natives of Fayal. It is, indeed, quite impos-
sible to conceive of finer work done in the material used.

The matting was frequently ornamented with checks and stripes
of colored fibre, with small designs at the intersections of the
stripes, and with the rosy breast-feathers of the Leucodide sewed
into it. Over this sometimes a water proof material, made from
the split intestines of the sea lion sewed together, was placed.
The inner wrappings vary in number and kind but they arc all re-
ferrible to one or the other of the above kinds. Outside of these
were usually the skins of the sea otter or other fur animals, and
the whole was secured in a case of sealskins, coarse matting or
similar material secured firmly by cords and so arranged as to be
capable of suspension.

186

The case was sometimes cradle shaped, especially when the
body was that of an infant. On these occasions it was often of
wood, ornamented as highly as their resources would allow,
painted with red, blue or green native pigments, carved, adorned
with pendants of carved wood and suspended by braided cords of
whale sinew from two wooden hoops, like the arches used in the
game of croquet.

The innermost wrapping of infants was usually of the finest
fur, and from the invariable condition of the contained remains it
is probable that the bodies were encased without undergoing the
process previously described. The practice of suspension was
undoubtedly due to a desire to avoid the dampness induced by
contact with the soil. The bodies of infants thus prepared were
often retained in the house, by the fond mother, for a long time.
Afterwards they were sometimes suspended in the open air : but
adults were as far as I have been able to find out, invariably con-
signed to caves or rock-shelters.

Among the localities which have been visited personally by the
writer, are caves in Unga, one of the Shumagin Islands, and
others on the islands of Amaknak and Atka, further west. In
all of these the remains of mummies existed ; but the effect of
falling rock from above, and great age, had in all the caves except
that of Unga, destroyed the more perishable portions of the re-
mains, and in the latter place only fragments remained.

Many stories, however, came to hand in relation to a cave on
the "Islands of the Four Mountains" west of Unalashka, where
a large number of perfectly preserved specimens were said to ex-
ist, in relation to which the following legend was current among
the natives.

Many years ago 1 there lived on the island of Kagamil (one of
the Four Mountains) a celebrated chief named Kat-hay-a-kut-chak,
small of stature but much feared and respected by the adjacent
natives for his courage and success in hunting. He had a son
whom he fondly loved, and who was about fifteen years old. For
this son he made a bidarka (or skin-boat) highly ornamented and
of small size. When it was finished, the boy entreated his father
for permission to try it, and after much coaxing was permitted to
do so, on condition that he did not go far from the shore. After

seeing the boat safely launched the father sat on the hillside
watching its progress. The boy became interested in the pursuit
of a diving bird at which he threw his dart and which receding
from the shore carried the boy away in pursuit, forgetful of his

His father shouted to him but the boy was too far away to hear,
and presently it becoming dusk, he could no longer see him and
the chief returned to his dwelling.

died until out of sight of his own island, and in the darkness he
made for the nearest shore.

In those days an Aleut marrying into another family was accus-
tomed to leave his wife with her people, at least for a certain time ;
and a native of another island who had married a daughter of the

in front of him and recognized his little brother-in-law. The boy
did not however recognize the native, and supposing himself pur- '
sued paddled away as fast as he could. The brother-in-law tried
to frighten him by throwing darts at his canoe, and threw one so
carelessly that it hit the boy's paddle and his canoe overturned.
The brother-in-law made all speed to catch up with him and at-
tempted to right the boat ; but he could not do it, the boy, as is
the custom, being tied into the aperture in the top ; until, when he
did succeed, he found that the boy was dead. His grief may be
imagined, and at first he thought of abandoning the canoe where it
was, but on reflection he took it to the landing at Kagamil and se-
curing it in the kelp, that it might not float away, he returned to
his own island without having seen his wife.

In the morning the chiefs servants brought it in, and, to his
great sorrow, Kat-hay-a-kut-chak recognized his beloved son.

He caused the body to be prepared for burial, and when the
preparation was complete he sent for all the people of the Four
Mountain Islands to unite in the ceremonies of depositing the
body in the place where the Aleuts were used to put their dead.
The people collected, and together with the chief and his family
formed in procession, with songs of lamentation, beating the
native tambourines on the way to the burying place. It was

Initially melted. On the road lay a large flat stone. The
sister of the boy, who was great with child, having her eyes cov-

ALASKAN MUMMIES.

ered, did not see the stone, slipped, and fell, injuring herself se-
verely, and bringing on premature delivery, which caused her
death with that of the infant, on the spot. Now the poor old
chief had three to bury instead of one. So he ordered the pro-
cession to return to the village, bearing the dead with them.

He then had a cave near his house, which had been used as a
place for storage, cleaned out, and after due preparation, tin-
bodies were deposited in this cave, and with them many sea-otter
skins, implements, weapons, and all the personal effects of the
dead. He then distributed presents and food to the people, saying
that he intended to make of this cave, a mausoleum for his family ;
and that when he himself should die it was his desire to be placed
there, with his children. He then told them to eat and drink as
much as they desired, but as for himself he should fast and weep
for his children. His wishes were carried out, and he was placed
in the cave after his death, and since that time the Four Mountain
Islands have been abandoned as a place of residence by the
natives and only occupied by casual parties of hunters.

The writer attempted in 1873 to reach this locality, but bad
weather prevented anchoring ; as the shores are mostly precipitous,
and there are no harbors. In the summer of 1874, however, the
captain of a trading vessel sent there to take off a party of
hunters, was guided by some of them to the cave, and succeeded
in removing all the perfect mummies and such implements and
other ethnological material as could be found. Through the lib-
erality of the Alaska Com. Co. these remains have been received
by the National Museum and a careful and detailed account of
them lias been prepared.

Most of the mummies were wrapped up in skins or matting as
previously described, but a few were encased in frames covered
with sealskin or fine matting, and still retaining the sinew grum-
mets by which they were suspended. These cases were five-sided,
the two lateral ends subtriangular ; the back, bottom and sloping
top, rectangular, like a binary t..p turned upside down.

With them were found some wooden dishes, a few small ivory
carvings and toys, a number of other implements, but no weapons
except a few lance or dart heads of stone. Two or three women's
work bags with their accumulated scraps of embroidery, sinew,
tools and raw materials were among the collection.

While space will not suffice here to describe this material in

439

detail, it may be mentioned that it contained thirteen complete

California ; and two detached skulls.

None of the material showed any signs of civilized influences,
all was of indigenous production, either native to the islands, or
derived from inter-native traffic or drift wood. The latter com-
prised a few pieces of pine resin and bark, birch bark, and frag-
ments of reindeer skin from Aliaska Pe 1 1

It will thus be seen that this is one of the most important addi-
tions to our knowledge of the prehistoric condition of these
people. So far as the specimens differed from those in use in
more modern times they resembled more nearly the implements in
use among the Eskimo of the mainland. The remains are all
those of true aboriginal Aleuts.

The Kaniagmut Eskimo, inhabiting the peninsula of Aliaska,
the Kadiak archipelago and the islands south of the peninsula,
added, to the practice of mummifying the dead, the custom of
preparing the remains in some cases in natural attitudes, dressing
them in elaborately ornamented clothing sometimes with wooden
armor, and carved masks. They were represented, women as
serving or nursing children : hunters in the chase, seated in canoes
and transfixing wooden effigies of the animals they were wont to
pursue ; old men beating the tambourine, their recognized employ-
ment at all the native festivals. During the mystic dances, for-
merly practised before a stuffed image, the dancers wore a wooden
mask which had no eye-holes, but was so arranged that they could
only see the ground at their feet. At a certain moment they
thought that a spirit, whom it was death or disaster to look upon,
descended into the idol. Hence the protection of the mask. A
similar idea led them to protect the dead man, gone to the haunts

dances were over the temporary idol was destroyed.

We found many relics of this practice in .the Unga Caves.
In Kadiak still another custom was in vogue. Those natives
hunted the whale formed a peculiar caste by themselves.

descended i n families and the bodies of successful hunters were

4 40

mies were hidden away in caves only known to the possessors.
A certain luck was supposed to attend the possession of bodies
of successful hunters. Hence one whaler, if he could, would steal
the mummies belonging to another, and secrete them in his own
cave, in order to obtain success in his profession.

While M. Pinart was in Kadiak, he heard of the existence of
one of these mummies but was unable to discover the locality.
Afterwards Mr. Sheeran, the U. S. Deputy Collector of the port
of Kadiak, through a peculiar superstition of the christianized (?)
natives, was able to discover and secure it. It appears that
though nominally all members of the Greek Church they still have
great faith in the superstitions of their ancestors, and while the
whaleman's superstition has passed away, the natives still re-
garded the mummy as possessing the power of averting the ill
nature of evil spirits, and consequently were accustomed to take
to it the first berries and oil of the season. This they asserted,
the mummy ate, as the dishes were always empty when they re-
turned for them. Thus annually, they furnished the foxes and
spermophiles with a feast. By watching, when the spring offering
was made, the locality was detected. The mummy was secured by
Mr. Sheeran and placed in an outbuilding near his house. During
the season the natives came to him and remonstrated at his not
feeding the dead man sufficiently ; for he had been seen by a
native watchman one foggy night, prowling about the town, pre-
sumably in search of food.

This mummy was only covered with a tattered gut-shirt or
kamlayka, was in a squatting posture, and held in his hand a
stoneheaded lance, on the point of which was transfixed a rude
figure cut out of sealskin, supposed by the natives to represent
the evil spirits which he held in check. It was that of a middle
aged man with hair and tissues in good preservation.

BIOGRAPHIES OF SOME WORMS.

ample, the fresh water Frederi-

412

they form a coral-like branching mass. Qn magnifying these cells
when the animal is alive and extended from its cell, each polypide,
as it is called, appears with its crown of tentacles somewhat like a
Sabellid worm. This crown of tentacles surrounds the mouth,
which leads by an oesophagus into the throat and a stomach, the
latter bent so that the intestine beyond ends very near the mouth ;
the polypide is thus bent on itself within the cell (cystid) and its
body is drawn in and out by muscles. Attached to the end of the
fold of the stomach is a cord (funiculus) holding the ovary in
place, which extends back to the end of the cystid, as we may
call the cell.

Allman regards the polypide and cystid as separate individuals.
Now in confirmation of this view we have the singular genus Lox-
osoma, which is like the polypide of an ordinary Polyzoan, but
does not live in a cell. On the other hand, we know of no cystids

The affinities of the Polyzoa to the worms are quite decided.
In the Phoronis worm, which is allied to Sipunculus, we have the
alimentary canal flexed, and the anus situated near the mouth.
The Polyzoa have but a single pair of nerve ganglia, and in some
cases a tubular heart. The fresh water species are the higher,
and are called Phylactolaemata ; the marine species are termed
Gyiniiol.emata. All the Polyzoa are hermaphrodite, the ovaries
and male glands residing in the same cystid.

Development of the Polyzoa.— Kemembering that the cystids
stand in the same relation to the polypides as the hydroids to the
medusae, as Nitsche insists, we may regard the polypides as sec-
ondary individuals, produced by budding from the cystids. The
large masses of cells forming the moss animal, which is thus a
compound animal, like a coral stock, arises by budding out from a
primary cell. The budding process begins in the endocyst, or
inner of the double walls of the body of the cystid, according to
Nitsche, but according to an earlier Swedish observer, F. A. Smitt,

!■■■'!;. : : i in.' cystid.

Nitsche has observed the life history of Flustra membranacea.
He has traced the budding of one cell or zocecium (representing
the cystid individual) from another. During this process the poly-
pide within decays, leaving as a remnant the so-called "brown
body," regarded by Smitt as a secretion of the endocy st and u * m
of a new polypide. After the loss of its first polypide, it can pro-

443

duce a new one by budding from the endocyst on the side of the
stomach. In Loxosoma, young resembling the adult, bud out like
polyps.

Nitsche does not regard this budding process as an alternation
of generations, but states that in Polyzoa of the family Vesicu-
lariidae, this may occur, as in them some cystids form the stem,
and others (the zocecia) produce the eggs.

The Polyzoa produce winter and summer eggs, the winter eggs,
called statoblasts, being protected by a hard shell. Fig. 188, after

Hyatt, represents the winter egg of Pedt'natella magnified, with
spines. These winter eggs crowd the zooecia, and may be found
in them after the polypides have decayed.

Grant first described the ciliated young of the Polyzoa. The
Swedish naturalists, Loven and Smitt, have described Fig. 189.
the development of the young Lepralia pallasiana,
which, after passing through a true morula condition,
issues from the egg as a flattened ciliated sphere with
a single band of l:\i-vr cilia >uiT«>iinding one end.

Our figure (189) is copied from Claparede's memoir,

'liatrly al't- r escaping from the vixg. After swimming
about for a while as a spherical ciliated larva, with a bunch of
larger cilia (flagellum) at one end, it elongates, looses its cilia and

flagellum, and soon the polypide grows inside, the stomach and
tentacles arise, and finally the polypide is formed.

In conclusion, the Polyzoa increase (a) by budding, (b) by
normal eggs and winter eggs. In reproducing from eggs the
young passes through :

1. Morula state.

2. Trochosphere, much as in certain worms and mollusks, attain-
ing the

3. Adult condition (zocecium).

Claparede. Beitraj

VII. THE BRACHIOPODA.

While the Brachiopods have been regarded by many as closely
related to the Polyzoa, there are many features, as insisted on by
Prof. Morse, which closely ally them to the Clnetopod worms. In
his treatise "On the systematic Position of the Brachiopoda," 1
Morse has given conclusive reasons for removing them from the
mollusks and placing them among the worms, and even, in his
opinion, among the Chaetopods, the highest division of worms.
He thus, after giving the anatomical facts in his view sustaining
his position, concludes that ancient Chaetopod worms culminated
in two parallel lines, on the one hand, in the Brachiopods, and
on the other, in the fixed and highly cephalized Chffitopods.

On the other hand Mr. A. Agassiz, swayed by their relationship
to the Polyzoa, remarks that "the close relationship between
Brachiopods and Bryozoa cannot be more fully demonstrated than
by the beautiful drawings on PI. v., of Kowalevsky's history of
Thecidium. We shall now have at least a rational explanation ol
the homologies of Brachiopods, and the transition between -^h
types as Pedicellina to Membranipora and other incrusling V>*y-
ozoa, is readily explained from the embryology of Theckbmm^In

fact, all rncrusting Bryozoa ar

valve forming a united floor, while the convex valve does not
cover the ventral valve, but leaves an opening more or less orna-
mented for the extension of the lophophore." 1

In his first paper on the "Earlier Stages of the Terebratulina "
Morse had shown the same relationship between the young Brach-
iopod and the Pedicellina.

The two commonest forms on our coast are the Terebratulina
septentrionalis, found attached to stems or shells in the seas of
New England, while the Lingula pyrimidata (Fig. 190, A, with the
peduncle perfect, retaining a portion of the sand tube ; B, showing
the valves in motion, the peduncle broken and a new sand case be-

ing formed ; C, the same with the peduncle b
after Morse) is common in sand between tide marks, from North
Carolina to Florida. It is usually free, but sometimes attached.

Development of the Brachiopods. The life-history, from the
time that it leaves the egg until it attains maturity, " "

i lampshell, Terebrc

,,<;,■. has been told by Prof.

Before his account appeared our knowledge was ex-
tremely fragmentary. Morse believes that in all the Brachiopods
the sexes are separate. The eggs (Fig. 102, A), he says, as in the
Annelida, when arrived at maturity, escape from the ovaries into
the general cavity of the body, and are thence gathered up by
the segmental organs, or oviducts, and discharged into the sur-
rounding water. Whether they are fertilized after they leave the

parent or before, is not settled. In a few hours after they are
discharged the embryos hatch and become clothed with cilia. The
earliest stages of the egg of Brachiopods before the larva hatches,
were studied by Kowalevsky after the publication of Morse's re-
searches. The Russian zoologist observed in the egg of The-
cidium the total segmentation of the yolk (also observed in Tere-
bratulina by Morse), until a blastoderm (ectoderm) is formed
around the central segmentation cavity, which contains a few cells.
The similar formation of the blastoderm was seen in Argiope,
but not the morula stage. After this the ectoderm invaginates
and a cavity is formed, opening externally by a primitive mouth.
The walls of this cavity now consist of an inner and outer layer
(the endoderm and ectoderm). This cavity eventually becomes
the digestive cavity of the mature animal. After this the devel-
opment goes on as previously described by Morse, Kowalevsky's
discoveries confirming those of the former observer.

In Terebratulina Morse observed that the oval ciliated germ
became segmented, dividing into two and then

tuft of long cilia on the an-
terior end (Fig. 191, A).
In this stage the larva is

pidly about in every direc-
Soon after, the germ

i.arvai stages or Terebratulina. loQseg itg ciUa and becomes

attached at one end as in Fig. 191, B (c, cephalic segment; th,
thoracic segment ; p, peduncular or caudal segment) . The tho-
racic ring now increases much in size so as to partially enclose
the cephalic segment, as at Fig. 191, C. The form of the Brachi-
opod is then soon attained, as seen in Fig. 191, D, in which the
head (c) is seen projecting from the two valves of the shell (th),
the larger being the ventral plate.

The hinge margin is broad and slightly rounded when looked at
from above; a side view however, presents a wide. and flattened
area, " as is shown in some species of Spirifer, and the embryo for
a long time assumes the position that the Spirifer must have as-
sumed." Before the folds have closed over the head, four bundles
of bristles appear ; these bristles are delicately barbed like those
of larval worms. The arms, or cirri, now bud out as two promi-

447

nences, one on each side of the mouth. Then as the embryo ad-
vances in growth the outlines remind one of a Leptaena, an ancient
genus of Brachiopods, and in a later stage the form becomes
" quite unlike any adult Brachiopod known."

The deciduous bristles are then discarded, and the permanent
ones make their appearance, two pairs of arms arise, and now the
shell in " its general contour recalls Siphonotreta, placed in the
family Discinidae by Davidson, a genus not occurring above the
Silurian." No eye spots could be seen in Terebratulina, though
in the young Thecidium they were observed by Lacaze-Duthiers.
The young Terebratulina differs from Discina of the same age in
being sedentary, while, as observed by Fritz Midler, the latter
" swims freely in the water some time after the dorsal and ventral
plates, cirri, mouth, oesophagus and stomach have made their
appearance." Discina also differs from Terebratulina in having a
long and extensible oesophagus and head bearing a crown of eight
cirri or tentacles. Regarding the relations of the Brachiopods
with the Polyzoa, Morse suggests that there is some likeness be-
tween the embryo Brachiopod, and the free embryo of Pedicellina.
Fig. 192, B, represents the Terebratulina when in its form it re-
calls Megerlia or Argiope. C represents a later Lingula-like stage.
"It also suggests," says Morse, "in its movements the nervously
acting Pedicellina. In this and the several succeeding stages,
the mouth points directly backward (forward of authors), or away

Fig. 192.

from the perpendicular end (D) and is surrounded by a few cili-
ated cirri, which forcibly recall certain Polyzoa. The stomach and
intestine form a simple chamber, alternating in their contractions
and forcing the particles of food from one portion to the other."
Figure 192, E, shows a more advanced stage, in which a fold is
seen on each side of the stomach ; from the fold is developed the

complicated liver of the adult, as seen in E, which represents the
animal about an eighth of an inch long. The arms (lophophore)
begin " to assume the horse-shoe-shaped form of Pectinatella and
other high Polyzoa. The mouth at this stage begins to turn to-
wards the dorsal valve (ventral of authors), and as the central lobes
of the lophophore begin to develop, the lateral arms are deflected as
in F. In these stages (G) an epistome 1 is very marked, and it was
noticed that the end of the intestine was held to the mantle by an
attachment, as in the adult, reminding one of the funiculus in the
Phylactolsemata" (Polyzoa). Turning now to Kowalevsky's me-
moir, he shows, according to Mr. A. Agassiz, that the larvae of
Brachiopods are strikingly like those of the Annelides. "The
homology between the early embryonic stages of Argiope with

blance between some of the stages of Argiope figured by Kowa-
levsky and the corresponding stages of growth of the so-called
Loven type of development among Annelides is complete. The
number of segments is less, but otherwise the main structural
features show a closeness of agreement which will make it diffi-
cult for conchologists hereafter to claim Brachiopods as their
special property. The identity in the ulterior mode of growth
between the embryo of Argiope and of Balanoglossus, in the
Tornaria stage, is still more striking. We can follow the changes
undergone by Argiope while it passes through its Tornaria stage,
if we may so call it, and becomes gradually, by a mere modifica-
tion of the topography of its organs, transformed into a minute
pedunculated Brachiopod, differing as far from the Tornaria stage
of Argiope as the young Balanoglossus differs from the free swim-
ming Tornaria. In fact, the whole development of Argiope is a
remarkable combination of the Loven and of the Tornaria types
of development among worms."

i close of his first memoir Morse again insists <

t the close

lip of the Brachiopods and Polyzoa ; these views, taken
with his later views as to the close relationship of Lingula with
the Chaetopod worms, show how intimately the Polyzoa and Brach-
iopods are bound together with the Annelides.

' The free lip seemed to perform all the functions pertaining to the ^'j 8 ' 01 " 6 ^"
n, t "I i"R the same homologieal position in regard to the flexure of the intestine.

449

It will be seen that neither in the Polyzoa nor Brachiopods are
there any true molluscan characters, nothing homologous with the
foot, the shell gland or odontophore. The Brachiopods should in
our opinion be, perhaps, united with the Polyzoa and form a group
lower but sub-parallel with the Annelides. The Brachiopods, from
the facts afforded by Morse and others, have neither such a nervous
system or respiratory or circulating organs, or an annulated body,
as would warrant their union with the Chsetopods. He has fully
proved that they are a synthetic type, combining the features of
different groups of worms, and this fact apparently forbids their
being regarded as a group of Chsetopods. Looking at the subject
from an evolutional point of view, we should be inclined to regard
the Brachiopods and Polyzoa as derived from common low vermian
ancestors, while the Chaetopod worms probably sprang indepen-
dently from a higher ancestry.

To sum up, the Brachiopods pass through

1. A Morula state.

2. A free swimming, ciliated Gastrula condition, formed by in-
vagination of the ectoderm.

3. Free swimming larval annulate Cephulala stage, combining
the characters of the larva of Nareda and of Tornaria the larva
of Balanoglossus.

?

Ergot might supply an interesting text from which to exhibit
the worthlessness of speculation as opposed to observation and
experiment in dealing with natural science. Keplacing, as it
does, the seeds of different grasses, and always attaining, when
full grown, a greater size than the normal seed, it was at first
thought to indicate an extra quantity of life and vigour in the
particular seed, which exhausted themselves in the production of
the anomalous horned grain. No special properties were asso-
ciated with these abnormal productions. All along the ergot had
been exerting its baneful influence on man and animals without
being suspected. Through its agency the inhabitants of whole
districts in France had been visited with intermittent attacks of
gangrenous diseases ; and England, as Professor Henslow has
shown in the pages of the 'Journal of the Royal Agricultural
Society of England' (vol. ii. pp. 14-19), has records of similar
though not so extensive calamities. Yet many years have not
elapsed since these and other evils have been traced to their true
source, — the consumption of ergotted corn as food.

The remarkable action of ergot on the gravid uterus is well
known, and has caused it to be used for many years as a powerful
aid in cases of difficult or prolonged parturition. It has been
more recently determined that its power of causing muscular con-
traction extends to all unstriped or involuntary muscular fibre,
and it has consequently been applied in treating certain maladies
connected with the intestinal canal and the arteries, because these
organs, like the gravid uterus, are chiefly composed of this kind

The « Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England,'
and other periodicals devoted to agricultural subjects, contain
frequent narratives of the injuries to stock resulting from the
occurrence of ergot in grass crops. Mr. H. Tanner records the
loss to one breeder of cattle in Shropshire of 1200L in three years
from this cause (vol. xix, p. 40). Recent losses, especially in

451

the casting of foals by valuable brood mares, having again drawn
attention to the matter, I propose to set down what is known re-
garding this dangerous production. This is the more necessary,

subject were published before the very important observations of
Tulasne were known. This eminent fungologist has fully traced
the history and development of ergot, and has finally set at rest
the many doubts entertained as to its true nature.

Like all diseases which result from the attacks of fungi, the ap-
pearance of ergot is mysterious and more or less inexplicable.
Atmospheric conditions, without doubt, greatly influence the de-
velopment of such plants. Moisture is required for the growth of
the minute spores of fungi, which at all times abound in the air:
a moist and warm atmosphere invariably brings in all suitable lo-
calities a large crop of these minute epiphytic or parasitic fungi.
Such conditions, it is well known, greatly favour the production
and development of the potato fungus. Ergot also is most abun-

found in the greatest abundance in those parts which are low or
undrained. Such physical conditions are, however, not present
in every instance of the rapid progress of a parasitic fungus.
The recent appearance of a blight among garden hollyhocks, and
their allies, the wild mallows/is a remarkable exception. This
minute fungus (Puccinia malvacearum, Mont.) was described by
Montague from Chili, of which country it appears to be a native.
It was afterwards noticed in Australia ; and a year ago it ap-
peared for the first time in England, in such abundance that it
was observed almost everywhere in the south, and in some places
not a single Malvaceous plant, wild or cultivated, could be found
that had not been attacked by it. It is reported in the same
abundance from many districts this year.

It is to be hoped that the growing attention which is being given
to these smaller fungi may lead to a better acquaintance with the
causes inducing their sudden appearance and rapid development.
When these causes are known, one may obtain the power of modi-
fying or controlling, if not of totally preventing, their ravages.

Ergot has been observed on a large number of our native and
cultivated grasses as well as on our cereal crops. The grasses
that are most subject to its attacks are Rye-grass (Lolium perenne,
Li nn.) ; the Brome-grasses (Bromus secalinus, Linn., B. mollis,

., B. pratensis, Ehr.) ; Couch-grass (Triticum repens, Linn.) ;
tail-grass {Alopecurus pratensis, Linn.) ; Timothy-grass
( Phleum pratense, Linn.) ; Fes-
F ' g * 194 " cue-grass (Festuca elatior,

Linn.) ; Barley -grass (Horde-
urn mtmmtm, Linn.) ; and Man
na-grass (Glyceria fluitam
R. Br.). With the view o
enabling the reader to recog
this pest, which is made

ber of engravings from remar
ably accurate but till now un-
published drawings of its ap-
pearance on different plants,
made by Francis Bauer, who
for several years carefully ob-
served this disease, when ne
was connected with the Royal
Gardens at Kew as botanical
draughtsman.

As we are most familiar wA
the appearance of ergot on the
cereals, I shall first notice the
grain plants affected by it.

That on which it is best
known, and from which it i s
chiefly collected for use m
medical practice is Rye (SecaU
cereale, Linn.). In Fig. lW -
shown a spike of rye, with oni)
a single ear affected by a short
and Lk ergot; but in Fig
mi .Avon] ears are ergotted,
;cr and more slen-
f the majority of
the diseased ears exhibit t ei
usual aspect. The great »j
in the size of the grain, shown in the drawings, sagged

454

to Bauhin the name (Secale luxurians) he gave to ergot, more than
250 years ago in one of the first published notices of the disease.

In barley and wheat ergot is not so frequently met with as in
rye ; nevertheless, when carefully sought for, it will often be found.
It has been observed in all the cultivated varieties of wheat. Fig.
195 (p. 453) represents a remarkable case of diseased spring wheat,
observed by Bauer. Two of the ears only are ergotted, while the
great majority are affected by another and better known disease,
bunt or pepperbrand, due also to a minute parasitic fungus (Til-
Jet i a caries, Tub).

Bauer made a series of experiments with the view of discovering
the manner in which different diseases due to microscopic fungi
might be communicated to wheat and other cereals. He placed a
quantity of the powder (spores) of bunt on the seed of spring
wheat, which he then sowed. As the wheat ripened it became ex-
tensively affected with the bunt disease. In bunt the contents of
the grains are generally completely replaced by a uniform black
powder; the grain is brittle
and easily crushed between the
fingers, when it has a greasy
feeling and gives off an offen-
sive fetid smell. Under the
microscope this black powder
is seen to be composed of
spherical spores with a reticu-
lated surface (Fig. 196). If a
diseased grain is examined be-
sporc* of Bunt showing the threads of My- fore the spores are fully ripe,

celmtn. Very highly magnified. ^ ^ be geen tQ be attach-

ed by short stalks to a fine branched thread or mycelium, which
appears to be absorbed as the spores ripen ; it can scarcely be de-
tected in the fully ripe bunt.

Besides the bunt, ergot also appeared in Bauer's small experi-
mental crop of spring wheat, and in the head figured (Fig. 195, p.
453) he observed that the same grain was attacked by both fungi,
as was noticed subsequently by Phillipi and others, and has been
illustrated and described by Tulasne. A spikelet from the centre
of this head is represented double the size of nature in Fig. 197
(p. 455). This consists of three grains, all diseased. That in
the centre is the largest, the great size being due to the growth of

455

the ergot below the grain itself, which is entirely converted into
bunt-spores, and is carried on the apex of the growing ergot and
surmounted by the withered remains of the style. This is clearly
seen in the section of this grain (Fig. 198), in which the dark col-
our of the bunt-spores at the apex is contrasted with the lighter-
coloured internal structure of the ergot below. The lateral grains
of the spikelet are about the size of ordinary wheat-grains, only,

rig. if:.

like all bunted grains, they are somewhat shorter and blunter.
One of these (Fig. 199, a) is entirely converted into bunt-spores,
while the other (6 and c), like the central grain, has an ergot es-
tablished in the lower portion, though still young and very small.

It deserves to be noticed that in both the ergotted grains of
this spikelet the early sphacelia state of the ergot is carried up

456

rgot itself, and covers the bunted apex of the grains
bject to the attack of ergot.

i well known. Improved

.ill IN

forage plant, though not so
injurious as it has been called ; indeed recent experiments make

produced by the use of darnel have been really caused by the un-
observed ergot. The frequency with which rye-grass is attacked
has often been noticed. Edward Carroll says he never failed to
discover it more or less ergotted in fields allowed to stand for
seed, and he adds, what appears to be opposed to general experi-
ence, that its extent is in proportion to the wet or dry state of the

quent when dry. The probable explanation of this reversing of
the experience in England and the Continent is, that it is due to
the normal moist atmosphere of Ireland, where Mr. Carroll made
his observations, being fitted for the germination of the spores of
fungi; while rain would wash the spores off the plants, and a
superabundance of water would be unfavourable to their growth.

A head of Timothy-grass (Phleum pratense, Linn.) is represented
in Fig. 200 (p. 457) with an extraordinary number of ergotted
ears. This grass forms a considerable portion of the late meadow
crops in many districts.

I have already in the darnel figured the ergot in a weed in cul-
tivated grounds; and in the barley -grass (Ilordeum murinum,
Linn.), Fig. 201 (p. 457), we have it on one of the most common
annual grass-weeds of our road-sides and waste places. Although
this is a worthless weed, as it is rejected even by the half-starved
animals that feed by the road-side, it may be actively injurious to
the agriculturist if it is to any extent a nidus for the growth of
ergot.

Numerous other illustrations might be given, but our figures ot
the ergot, as it appears in cereals and in pasture and weed grasses,
are sufficient to show the general aspect of this parasitic fungus,
and to enable the reader easily to detect it.

No farm or district has any right to hope for exemption from
this dangerous pest. It may not have been noticed, or it may
have actually been absent for many years, yet it may sudden y,

458

he estimated that <

i-fourth, of all the ears of
this grass in the district
were diseased! ('Gard.
Chron.,' 1847, p. 653.)

The different drawings
have shown that the ergot
bears a certain relation to
of the plant in

which it <

in all it attains a larger
size than the normal grain,

is scaly or somewhat granular, and is generally marked by longi-
tudinal and horizontal cracks, penetrating into and exposing the
interior. The colour is black or purple-black, but the interior is
white or purplish, and of a dense homogeneous structure (Fig. 204,
p. 459), composed of spherical or polygonal cells, so largely charged
with an oily fluid 1 as to burn freely when lighted at a ca ndle^___

De Candolle suggested that this anomalous structure had some
"affinity to the amorphous indurated masses of mycelium which had
been united together in a spurious genus to which was given the
name Sclerotium. The illustrious mycologist Fries separated it
from Sclerotium, and established a genus for its reception, which
he designated Spermoedium,
although he doubted whether
it should be included among
the fungi at all, considering
it rather as only a morbid
condition of the seeds of

The true nature of ergot
was at length determined by
observations first made on its
early history and development
on the diseased plants, and
then by experiments on the

ergot itself, with the view Of Microscopic structure of Ergot, magnified

determining its ultimate pro-
duct. In both directions the most satisfactory results have been
arrived at, and we now know the complete history of the plant.

In its earliest condition this parasitic fungus escapes notice,
being composed of a large number of very small elongated cells
borne in a colourless liquid. In about three days after the plant
is attacked the ergot becomes visible, appearing as a yellowish
viscous substance resting on the outer coating of the as yet unde-
veloped attacked grain (Fig. 205, p. 460). It exudes from be-
tween the glumes and more or less completely covers the whole
seed. It has a taste like honey and an odour like that of grated
bones. The ears naturally attacked do not belong to less vigorous
or healthy plants than those that escape.

Once established, the fungus rapidly developes, carrying up-
wards the aborted remains of the seed, crowned with the withered
styles, and forming below the homogeneous sclerotioid mass,
which becomes the true ergot. The state of the development of
the ergot had been observed early in the century by Bauer, though
none of his figures were published till 1841. He had noticed its
relation to the outer covering of the seed, and had supposed it to

460

be an altered condition of that structure ('Linn. Trans.,' vol.
xviii, p. 475).

Leveille, in 1826, noticed that the ergot commenced with this
soft covering, and considering it to be a distinct fungus, parasitic
rig. 205. on the ergot, he proposed for it the name of

' Sphacelia. John Smith and Quekett, in 1841,
published descriptions of the structure of this
sphacelia condition, as far as they were able to
observe it. They thought it was an amorphous

of larger doubly-nucleated oblong cells scat-
tered among them. It was supposed to be the
immediate cause of the ergot, and Quekett
gave to it the name of Ergotcetia abortifaciens,
while Berkeley and Broome, believing it to be
a true Oidium, removed it to that genus under
the name 0. abortifaciens. Bauer's drawings
are singularly accurate representations of the
general aspect of the disease in its different
stages, and while his microscope disclosed to
a Grain of Rye covered him in 1805 all that Quekett published in 1841,
ceiu,ttIte'ofVrgot' ifc was not sufficient to exhibit the minute
Twice the natural size, structure as it has been recently described and
figured by Tulasne. In Bauer's drawings (Fig. 206, p. 461) the
sphacelia is represented as consisting of tortuous and anasto-
mosing ridges or plates, with numerous open cavities in the in-
terior. Tulasne showed that the sphacelia was organically con-
nected with the ergot, and was, indeed, only a condition of it.

Bauer detected the elongated nucleated cells of the sphacelia,
but, like Quekett, he did not observe their connection with the
supporting structures; while the cavities accurately represented
by Bauer in the foldings of the sphacelia (Fig. 206) are the free
spaces where the nucleated cells or "spores" are produced.

The illustration (Fig. 207, p. 462), copied from Tulasne, shows
the relation of the different structures. The dark lower portions
of the woodcut is a section through the growing sclerotium or
ergot, properly so called. This is composed, as we have already
seen, of densely-packed polygonal cells, filled with oil globules.
On its outer surface and from its apex are given off elongated

462

matia-bearing stage has been observed in other fungi besides the

When the ergot attains its full size the sphacelia disappears, or
only the withered and dried up remains of it can be detected at
the apex of the ergot.

The further history of the ergot has been determined also by
Tulasne. The frequent occurrence of minute spbserias on the
ergotted grains of grasses suggested to him that they were prob-
ably not accidental productions, as had been supposed, but were

organically connected with the ergot, and represented a further
stage of its development. With the view of testing this opinion,
he planted a number of ergotted grains, and had the satisfaction
to find that a considerable proportion produced sphajrias. Those
produced by the ergot of rye were the same in form and structure
with what were grown from the ergots of most of the other grasses,
and believing them all to belong to the same species, he gave to
it the name of Claviceps purpurea (Fig. 208, p. 463). This per-
fect plant is a small purplish fungus, with a spherical head, sup-
ported on a short firm stem, with a somewhat downy base. The

463

globose head is rough with small prominences, which are the open-
ings of the cavities or conceptacles in which the spores are pro-
duced (Fig. 208, b and c). One of these conceptacles, highly
magnified, is shown in Fig. 209, a (p. 464) representing the oval
cavity filled with the long slender spore cases (asci) springing from
the base of the cavity. The mouth of the conceptacle opening
through the conical swelling is obvious ; this gives the granular
aspect to the head of the fungus. Four of the sacs or asci are
represented at 6, still more magnified. They are seen to be filled

Fig. 208.

with slender needle-shaped bodies, which are the ultimate and
perfect* reproductive spores of the ergot. A few of these spores
are represented still more magnified at c.

Having traced the history of the ergot, we may now inquire
how and at what time the crops get infected, with the view of
seeing whether it is possible to discover any means of alleviating,
if not of destroying, this injurious parasite.

At two different stages in the life of ergot, bodies are produced
which have the power of propagating the disease, namely, the

464

spores of the perfect fungus developed from the ergot, or the
"spores" (spermatia or conidia) of the early sphacelia state of
the parasite.

The plant is carried over the winter in the dormant ergot con-
dition. A large proportion of the ergot in a field, when it is fully
ripe, falls to the ground during the operations of the harvest, or
by the friction of the spikes against each other through the action
of the wind. These ergots remain on the ground during the win-
ter without undergoing any change. They are dormant, like the

Fig. 209.

cereals come into flower, and by the action of wind or rain they
obtain access to the flowers.

In 1856 Durieu communicated ergot to rye by placing the spores
of the Claviceps on its flowers. Roze has since confirmed and ex-
tended these observations ('Bulletin Soc. Bot. de France,' 1870).

It is, then, by these minute needle-like spores that the disease
is communicated at first to all crops ; and the principal effort of

468 BOTANY.

under obligations to the author, while his easy-flowing, graceful and
sprightly pages of biographical matter, glowing with the enthusi-

tact in their natural haunts with the objects described, will render
his book a pleasing and attractive one to the general reader.

But the author is not alone entitled to our thanks or our con-
gratulations. It must not be forgotten that Dr. Hayden's early
explorations in the Upper Missouri region, together with the later
collections made under his direction as Geologist in charge of the
Geological Survey of the Territories, have furnished both the
basis and the occasion for the present report, and that to his wise
liberality we are indebted for its publication. — J. A. A.

BOTANY,

frond. — In 1873, Mr. E. W. Munday sent, from Syracuse, New
York, a large specimen of Botrychium simplex, having four pairs
of broadly wedge-shaped divisions to the sterile part of_ the frond,
these merely incised at the broad terminal margin. From Syra-
cuse, Mrs. Styles M. Rust now sends a very robust specimen, ap-
parently of the same species, but of a ditferent aspect, the divisions
of the sterile part of the frond being more approximate, narrowly
oblong in shape, and strongly pinnatifid. The texture is that of
B. simplex, i.e., thick and rather fleshy. This may interest our
fern-students and collectors. The variety may lake the name of
var. bipinnatificlum.—A. Gray.

Fucas serratus.— Colonel Pike has personally assured me that
this Fucus was abundant at Newburyport when he was there in
1852. Rev. J. Fowler sent me some from Pictou harbor in 1869,
and again lately in large quantity, the plant several feet long,
and fruiting abundantly. He writes that he collected it Nov. 1,
1874, and that "it seemed abundant on the rocks round the har-
bor, and had every appearance of being a native."— Daniel C.
Eaton.

Menyanthes trifoliata, the Bud-bean, has dimorphous flow-
ers, according to the observations of C. A. Wheeler, of Hubbards-

Germany (in "Botanische Zeitung," 1867), includes this in a list
of, dimorphic genera. It had escaped our attention. — A. G.

ZOOLOGY.

Description of a New Wren erom Eastern Florida.— Thry-
othorus Ludovicianus (Lath.), var. Miamensis, Ridgw. Florida
Wren. Diagnosis.— Similis T. ludoviciano, sed major, robustior,
et coloribus saturatioribus. Alse, 2-75; caiida, 2-60; culmen,
•90 ; tarsus, -95 ; dig. ined. (sine ungue), -60.

Hab. in Florida orientate (Miami River, Jan., 1874, C. J. May-
nard). Typns No. 1864, Mus. R. R.

Similar to T. Ludovicianus (Lath.), but larger, stouter, and

the back, and becoming browner on the forehead. Wings and
tail with indistinct, narrow, dusky bars, and rump with concealed
white spots; a wide post-ocular stripe of dark rusty on the
upper half of the auriculars, running back into the rusty of the
nape. Below deep rusty ochraceous, the sides and flanks showing
indistinct bars of darker rusty: chin and crissum soiled whitish,
the latter banded with dusky black ; a continuous superciliary stripe

side of the pileum : checks grayish soiled white, with faint cres-
centic bars of dusky. Bill dusky, the superior tomium and lower
mandible pale (lilaceous in life?); feet pale horn color. Wing,
2-75; tail, 2-60; culmen, -90; tarsus, -95 : middle toe (without
the claw), -60.

Habitat.— Miami River, eastern Florida (January 9, 1874; C.
J. Maynard). Type No. 1864, Mus. R. R.

Remarks.— In coloration, this strongly-marked form closely
resembles T. Berlandieri Baird of the lower Rio Grande (see Hist.
N. Am. B., I, p. 144, pi. ix, fig. 2), but the size is greatly larger
than even the most northern examples of Ludovicianus proper,

470

in case of families or groups of families which have in temperate
being to the southward, or towards the region in which the family

The Frigate Bird and White Ibis in Connecticut.— The
occurrence of Tarlnjpeles aqnihts in Connecticut is not generally
known, Long Island being, up to this time, the northernmost
locality on record for this bird. A female of this species was
killed at Faulkner's Island in this state in the autumn of 1859,
and is now in the collection of Capt. Brooks. It was hovering
over the island when shot. Late in the afternoon of May 23, I
observed near Milford, Conn., a specimen of Ibis alba. I recog-

of about one hundred and fifty yards, and by this means was en-
abled to note every detail of form and color. It was in full
plumage, the white being pure, and the naked skin about the
head, bright red. After watching it for a few moments I tried to

h-.arse cackle as it went off.— Ceo. Bird Grinnell, New Haven,

New Birds in Kansas.— The following additions to the Kansas
list have recently been made: Micropalama himantopus, near
Lawrence, Sept. 9th and 19th, 1874, by W. Osburn ; CuWlris
armaria, same locality, Oct. 7th, 1874, by W. E. Stevens; JEgi-
othus Unaria, at Baldwin, fourteen miles from Lawrence, March
13th t 1875, by John Holzapfel, also seen in Western Kansas in
November, by Mr. Trippe, as recorded in Dr. Cones' "Birds of
the Northwest;" Doidrwro ]>al,narnm, at Topeka, May Gth, 1875,
by E. A. Popenol. To these should lie added Amp'lis garrulus, a
specimen of which taken at Fort Riley, by Dr. Hammond, is in
the Smithsonian collection. The Kansas List now contains 292
species. — F. H. Snow, Lawrence, Kansas.

Nematoids in Plants. — Greef found (SB. Ges. Marburg, 1872)

4 70

operation in a shroud of mystery by preserving the detached piece
as a precious relic. From the appearance of these facts reported
by the learned archaeologist of Lozere, lie said that a new light
had been shed upon the intellectual stale of man in 1 lie polished
stone age. It explained his religious conceptions, and confirmed
the discovery of the figure of a goddess in the caverns of Baye
(Marne). M. Broca remarked that perforated skulls were also
found at the last named station. Among the skulls dug up by
General Faidherbe were found two in the same condition. Dr.
Chil, from the Canary Islands, said that perforated skid Is had
been found in the ancient burial-places of his country. Notice

uhich M II ii < nd M ( Jpl ,i Dupai _ ^
details. A similarly perforated or trepanned skull was found by
Mr. E. G. Squier among some ancient Peruvian crania collected
by him."

The original report I have not seen ; but the concluding remark,
on the Peruvian skull, removes some doubt as to the kind of per-

S u tiiiT. t! . ha u-t ud tin ' ...n ( trepan-

dividu ii ) an -o t'\id.nt. and ' , i and the

position (on the left side of the frontal bone) so different from
that of the perforations which I have described in the crania from

fore made no reference. to the Peruvian skull The same view,
we may presume, was taken by the learned persons to whom I re-
ferred my discoveries, who could scarcely be supposed ignorant of
the case in question.

I find no positive statement as to the position of the perfora-
tions mentioned at the meeting of the French Association ; but
jud-v from certain remarks that (again unlike our instances from
Michigan) there was no constant position observed. In certain

the location of the°injury to be operated on.

In short, the perforation which I find in the Michigan crania is

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

ADDRESS

DR. JOHN L. LeCONTE,

The founders of science in America, and the other great stu-
dents of nature, who have in previous years occupied the elevated
position in which I now stand, have addressed you upon many

Presidents by the laws of the Association, some have spoken to
you in solemn and wise words concerning the duties and privileges
of men of science : and the converse duties of the nation towards
those earnest and disinterested promoters of knowledge. Others
again have given you the history of the development of their
respective branches of study, and their present condition, and
have, in eloquent diction, commended to your gratitude those who
have established on a firm foundation the basis of our modern

The recent changes in our Constitution, by which you are led to
expect from your two Vice-presidents, and from the Chairman of
the Chemical Subsection, addresses on the progress made during

482 president's address.

labor, by alluding to scientific work which lias been accomplished
since our last meeting. While delicacy forbids me from so doing,
I am equally debarred from repeating to you the brief sketch I
endeavored to give at a former meeting 1 of the history, and pres-
ent condition of Entomology in the United States.

But it has appeared to me that a few thoughts, which have im-
pressed themselves on my mind, touching the future results to be
obtained from certain classes of facts, not yet fully developed, on
account of the great labor required for their proper comparison,

hope to be able, with your kind attention, to present them in such
way as to be suggestive of the work yet to be done.

It has been perhaps said, or at least it has been often thought,
that the first mention of the doctrine of evolution, as now ad-
mitted to a greater or less degree by every thinking man, is found
in Ecclesiastes, i, 9 :—

" The thing that hath been is that which shall be ; and that
which is done is that which shall be done ; and there is no new
thing under the sun. Is there anything whereof it may be said,
See, this is new? It hath been already of old time, which was
before us."

Other references to evolutionary views in one form or another
occur in the writings of several philosophers of classic times, as
you have had recent cause to remember.

Whether these are to be considered as an expression of a per-
fect truth in the very imperfect" language which was alone intelligi-
ble to the nation to whom this sacred book was immediately ad-
dressed on the one hand ; and the happy guesses of philosophers,
who by deep intuition had placed themselves in close sympathy
with the material universe, on the other hand, I shall not stop to
enquire. The discussion would be profitless, for modern science
in no way depends for its magnificent triumphs of fact and
thought upon any utterances of the ancients. It is the creation
of patient intelligent labor of the last two centuries, and its re-
sults can be neither confuted nor confirmed by anything that was
said, thought or done at an earlier period. I have merely referred
to these indications of doctrines of evolution to recall to your
minds that the two great schools of thought, which now divide
philosophers, have existed from very remote times. They are,

483

therefore, in their origin, probably independent of correct scien-
tific knowledge. *

You have learned from the geologists, and mostly from those of
the present century, that the strata of the earth have been suc-
cessively formed from fragments more or less comminuted by me-
chanical action, more or less altered by chemical combination and
molecular rearrangement. These fragments were derived from
strata previously deposited, or from material brought up from
below, or even thrown down from above, or from the debris of
organic beings which extracted their mineral constituents from
surrounding media. Nothing new has been added, everything is
old : only the arrangement of the parts is new, but in this arrange-
ment definite and recognizable unchanged fragments of the old
frequently remain. Geological observation is now so extended
and accurate that an experienced student can tell from what for-
mation, and even from what particular locality these fragments
have been derived.

I wish to show that this same process has taken place in the
organic world, and that by proper methods we can discover in our
fauna and flora the remnants of the inhabitants of former geologic

of variation which are supposed to account for the differences in
the organic beings of different periods.

groups of animals which are rarely preserved in fossil condition,
to reconstruct, in some measure, the otherwise extinct faunas, and
thus to have a better idea of the sequence of generic forms in time.

have taken place in the outline of the land and the sea. More im-
portant still, we will have some indications of the time when

buried at thcf bottom of the ocean, or perhaps entirely destroyed

through evidence to be gained in the manner of which I am about
to speak.

My illustrations will naturally be drawn from that branch of
zoology, with which I am most familiar ; and it is indeed to your

484 president's address.

There are, as you know, a particular set of Coleoptera which
affect the seashore ; they are not very numerous at any locality,
but among them are genera which are represented in almost every
country of the globe. Such genera are called cosmopolitan, in
distinction to those which are found only in particular districts.
Several of these genera contain species which are very nearly
allied, or sometimes in fact undistinguishable and therefore iden-
tical along extended lines of coast.

Now it happens that some of these species, though they never
stray from the ocean shore inland, are capable of living upon
similar beaches on fresh water lakes, and a few are found in local-
ities which are now quite inland.

To take an example, or rather several examples together, for
the force of the illustration will be thereby greatly increased.

Along the whole of the Atlantic, and the greater part of the
Pacific coast of the United States, is found in great abundance on
sand beaches, a species of Tiger-beetle, Cicindela hirticollis, an ac-
tive, winged and highly predaceous insect ; the same species occurs
on the sand beaches of the great lakes, and were it confined to these
and similar localities, we would be justified in considering it as living
there in consequence solely of the resemblance in the conditions
of existence. But, it is also found, though in much less abun-
dance, in the now elevated region midway between the Mississippi
and Rocky Mountains. Now, this_ is the part of the continent
which, after the division of the great intercontinental gulf in Cre-
taceous times, finally emerged from the bed of the sea, and was in
the early and middle Tertiary converted into a series of immense
fresh water lakes. As this insect does not occur in the territory
extending from the Atlantic to beyond the western boundary of
Missouri, nor in the interior of Oregon and California, I think
that we should infer that it is an unchanged survivor of the spe-
cies which lived on the shores of the Cretaceous ocean, when the
intercontinental gulf was still open, and a passage existed, more-
over, towards the south-west, which connected with the Pacific.

The example I have given you of the geographical distribution
of Cicindela hirticollis would be of small value, were it an isolated
case; nor would I have thought it worthy of occupying your time,

communication of important truth. * This insect, which I have se-
lected as a type for illustrating the methods of investigation to

less closely by other Coleoptera, which like itself are not particular
as to the nature of their food, so long as it be other living insects,
. and apparently are equally indifferent to the presence of large

by my father, near Trenton, New Jersey, afterwards found on
Coney Island, near New York, and received by me from Kansas
and Wisconsin ; not, however, found west of the Rocky Mountains.
This species, thus occurring in isolated and distant localities, is
probably in process of extinction, and may or may not be older than

that it is older. Second, there is Dyschirim pallipennis, a amall
Carabide, remarkable among other species of the genus by the
pale wing covers, usually ornamented with a dark spot. This in-
sect is abundant on the Atlantic coast from New York to Virginia,
unchanged in the interior parts of the Mississippi valley, repre-
sented at Atlantic City, New Jersey, by a larger and quite distinct

know not,— our descendants may. The Atlantic species ar

region are without wings.

Accompanying these are Coleoptera of other families, whic
have been less carefully studied, but I will not trespass upon you
patience by mentioning more than two. Wedius paUipenm
(Staphylinidce) is found on salt marshes near New York, on th
Southern sea coast, and in Kans^-Ammodonus fossor, a wing
less Tenebrionide, Trenton, seashore near New York, and valley c
Mississippi at St. Louis; thus nearly approximating Cicindel
h T ;<hi in distribution.

We can thus obtain by a careful observation of the localities c
insects, especially such as affect, seashore or marsh, and thos
which being deprived of their favorite surroundings, have show i
if I may so express myself, a patriotic clinging to their nativ
soil, most valuable indications in regard to the time at which thei
unmodified ancestors first appeared upon the earth. For it is ol
vious that no tendency to change in different directions by « nr

merous successive slight modifications" 1 would produce a uniform
result in such distant localities, and under such varied conditions
of life. Properly studied, these indications are quite as certain
as though we found the well preserved remains of these ancestors
in the mud and sand strata upon whk-h t hey flitted or dug in quest
of food.

Other illustrations of survivals from indefinitely more remote
times I will also give you, from the Coleopterous fauna of our
own country, though passing time admonishes me to restrict their

To make my remarks intelligible, I must begin by saying that
there are three great divisions of Coleoptera, which I will name in
the order of their complication of structural plan: 1. Rhynchc-
phora; 2. Heteromera ; 3. Ordinary or normal Coleoptera; the
last two being more nearly allied to each other than either is to
the first. I have in other places exposed the characters of these
divisions, and will not detain you by repeating them.

From Palaeontological evidence derived from other branches of
zoology, we have a right to suppose, if this classification be cor-
rect, that these great types have been introduced upon the earth
in the order in which I have named them.

Now, it is precisely in the first and second series that the most
anomalous instances of geographical distribution occur ; that is to
say, the same or nearly identical genera are represented by species
in very widely separated !v_dons, without occurring in interme-
diate or contiguous regions. Thus there is a genus Emeax, found-
ed by Mr. Pascoe, upon an Australian species, which, when I saw
it, I recognized as belonging to Nyctoporis, a California genus,
established many years before ; and in fact barely specifically dis-
tinct from N. galeata. Two other examples are Otlmius and Eu-
phurida, United States genera, which are respectively equivalent
to Elacatis and Ischalia, found in Borneo. Our native genera
Eurygenius and Toposcopus, are represented by scarcely different
forms in Australia. All these belong to the second series (Ileter-

with less labor on my part than patience on yours.
A single example from the Rhynchophora, and I will pass to

487

On the sea coast of California, extending to Alaska, is a very
anomalous insect, whose affinities are difficult to discern, called
Empln/ustps picic'da, from its occurrence under the sea-weed cast
up by the waves. It is represented in Australia by several spe-
cies of a nearly allied genus Aphela, found in similar situations.

and by the vague and opinionative genera founded upon charac ters
of small importance. The Coleoptcra alone, thus far described,

terial to master the* whole -nb et. and from the laudable zeal of
collectors to make known what they suppose to be new objects,

Catalogus Coleopterorum of Gemminger and Harold, a permanent
record of the untiring industry of those two excellent entomolo-
gists, species of the genus Trechicus founded by me upon a small
North American insect, are mentioned under five generic names,
only one of which is recognized as a synonym of another. These

1 :)•>, 1 Hi and 289. U

The two closely allied genera of Rhynchophora mentioned
above are separated by no less than 1G8 pages.

It is therefore plain, lha! before imidi progress can be made in

that now adopted. The necessity is every day more apparent that
descriptions of heterogeneous material are'rather obstructive than
beneficial to science, except in the case of extraordinary forms
likely to give information concerning geographical distribution or
clarification. Large typical collections affording abundant mate-
rial for comparison, for the approximation of allied forms, and the
elimination of doubtful ones must be accumulated; and in the

At the same time, for this investigation, the study of insects is
collecting, and little cost of preserving the specimens, but because

488

from their varied mode of life in different stages of development,
and perhaps for other reasons, the species are less likely to be
destroyed in the progress of geological changes. 1 Cataclysms and
submergences, which would annihilate the higher animals, would
only float the temporarily asphyxiated insect, or the tree trunks
containing the larva; and pupae to other neighboring lands. How-
ever that may be, I have given you some grounds for believing,
that many of the species of insects now living existed in the same
form before the appearance of any living genera of mammals, and
we may suppose that their unchanged descendants will probably
survive the present mammalian fauna, includine- our own race.

I may add, moreover, that some groups, especially in the
Rhynchophora, which, as I have said above, I believe to be the
earliest introduced of the Coleoptera, exhibit with coinpaet and
definite limits, and clearly defined specific characters, so many_
generic modifications, that I am compelled to think that we have
in them an example of the long sought unbroken series, extending
in this instance from early mesozoic to the present time, and of
which very few forms have become extinct.

I have used the word species so often, that you will doubtless be
inclined to ask, what, then, is understood by a species? Alas! I
can tell you no more than has been told recently by many others.
It is an assemblage of individuals, which differ from each other by

than those in which they differ from any oth< i >-embla-< ot in-
dividuals. Who determines the value of these characters? The
experienced student of that department to which tiie objects be-
long. Species are, therefore, those groups of individuals* repre-
senting organic form- whmh u;i i:i:< o<.\[/.r.i> n> such by those
who from natural power and education are best qualified to judge.

You perceive, therefore, that we are here dealing with an entirely
different kind of information from that which we gain from the
physical sciences ; everything there depends on accurate observa-
tion, with strict logical consequences derived therefrom. Here
the basis of our knowledge depends equally on accurate and
trained observation, but the logic is not formal but perceptive.

400

indifference that they would show to the conceptions of mediocre

Perhaps they would even wonder what one can find to admire
in the unrivalled collection, which is there assembled.

There is surely wanting in the minds of such persons thai high,

mony with the great artists whose creations are before them.

Creations I said, and I use the word intentionally. If there is
one power of the human soul, which more nearly than any other
approaches the faculty of creation, it is that by which the almost
inspired artist develops out of a rude block of stone, or out of
such mean materials as canvass and metallic pastes of various
colors, figures which surpass in beauty, and in power of exciting

Yet these anaesthetic and nonappreciative persons are just as
highly educated, and in their respective positions as good and
useful members of the social organism as any that may be found.
I maintain only, they would never make good students of biology.

In like manner, by way of illustrating the foregoing observa-
tions, there are some, who in looking at the phenomena of the
external Universe, may recognize only Chance, or the "fortui-
tous concourse of atoms," producing certain resultant motions.
Others, having studied more deeply the nature of things, will per-
ceive the existence of laws, binding and correlating the events
they observe. Others again, not superior to the latter in intelli-

between these phenomena, and the indications of an intellectual or
aesthetic or moral plan, similar to that which influences their own
actions, when directed to the attaining of a particular result.

These last will recognize in the operations of nature the direc-
tion of a Human Intelligence, greatly enlarged, capable of modi-
fying at its will influences beyond our control ; or they will appre-
ciate in themselves a resemblance to a superhuman intelligence
which enables them to be in sympathy with its actions.

Either may be true in individual instances of this class of
minds ; one or other must be true ; I care not which, for to me the
propositions are in this argument identical, though in speculative
discussions, they may be regarded as at almost the opposite poles
of religious belief. All that I plead for is, that those who have
not this perceptive power, and who in the present condition of

491

scientific discussion are numerically influential, will have tolerance
for those who possess it ; and that the ideas of the latter may
not be entirely relegated to the domain of superstition and en-

In the ease of the want of perception of the Australian, a very
simple test can be applied. It is only to photograph the object
represented by the artist, and compare the outlines and shades of
the photograph, With those of the picture. If they accord within
reasonable limits the picture is correct to that extent; at least,
however bad the artist, the human face could never be confounded
with a ship, or a kangaroo.

Can we apply a similar test to the works of nature? I think

indicate that all human beings of similar intelligence and educa-
tion working towards a definite end, will work in a somewhat sim-

out some object of importance, devises a method of so doing, and
creates for that purpose a series of small objects, and we find that
these small obje. i themselves in

of a group of organisms are divided in space, and distributed in
time ; and that the results of man's labor are thus divided and

intelligence and methods of action, is not the resemblance between

tations of organic nature apparent ?

I now simply present to you this investigation. Time is want-
ing for me to illustrate it by even a single example, but I feel sure
that I have in the minds of some of you already suggested several
applications of it to the principle I wish to teach :— the resem-
blance in the distribution of the works of nature to that of human
contrivances evolved for definite purposes.

If this kind of reasoning commends itself to you, and you thus
perceive resemblances in the actions of the Ruler of the Universe
to those of our own race, when prompted by the best and highest
intellectual motives, you will be willing to accept the declaration
of the ancient text, " He doeth not evil, and abideth not with
the evil inclined. Whatever he hath done is good;" 1 or that

president's address.

from our own canon of Scripture: "With him is wisdom and
strength, he hath counsel and understanding." 1

The aesthetic character of Natural History, therefore, prevents
the results of its cultivation from being worked out with the pre-
cision of a logical machine, such as with correct data of observa-
tion and calculation would be quite sufficient to formulate the
conclusions of physical investigation. According as the percep-
tion of the relations of organic beings among themselves becomes
more and more enlarged, the interpretation of these relations will
vary within limits; but we will be continually approximating
higher mental or spiritual truth.

This kind of truth can never be revealed to us by the study of
inorganic aggregations of the universe. The molar, molecular
and polar forces, by which they are formed, may be expressed, so
far as science has reduced them to order, by a small number of
simply formulated laws, indicative neither of purpose nor intelli-
gence, when confined within inorganic limits. In fact, ti -
the number of chemical elements known to us should be as large
as it is, and go on increasing almost yearly with more minute in-
vest igations. To all appearance, the mechanical and vital struc-
ture of the universe would remain unchanged, if half of them
were struck out of existence.

Neither is there any evidence of intelligence or design in the
fact that the side of the moon visible to us exhibits only a mass
of volcanoes.

Yet upon the earth, without the volcano and the earthquake,
and the elevating forces of which they are the feeble indications,
there would be no permanent separation of land and water ; con-
sequently no progress in animal and -vegetable life beyond " hut is
possible in the ocean. To us, then, as sentient beings, the vol-
cano and the earthquake, viewed from a biological standpoint,
have a profound significance.

It is indeed difficult to see in what manner the student of i

physical science is brought to a knowledge of any
intelligence in the arrangement of the Universe. The poet,
spired by meditating on the immeasurable abyss of space, and
transcendent glories of the celestial orbs has declared,

j of

493

and his saying had a certain amount of spaciousness, on account
of the magnitude of the bodies and distance* with which the stu-

only an example of what an excellent writer has termed " the un-
conscious action of volition upon credence," and it is properly in

may hope to exhibit, with clearness, the adaptations of plan pre-
figured and design executed.

differs from both the physicist and the biologist. Unconfined like
the former, by the few simple relations by which movements in the
inorganic world are controlled, he may not only vary the form of
hi* analysis, almost at pleasure, making it more or less transcen-

tions, apparently inconceivable in real existences, and then inter-
pret them into results quite as real as those of the legitimate
calculus with which he is working, but lying outside of its domain.
If biology can ever be developed in such manner that its results

eeivahle (or imaginary as they are termed in mathematics) quan-
tities which musl be introduced when changes of form or structure
take place. Such will be analytical morphology, in its proper

In the observation of the habits of inferior animals, we recog-

accomplishment of definite purposes, we do not entirely compre-
hend. They are, in many instances, not the result of either the
experience of the individual, or the education of its parents, who
in low forms of animals frequently die before the hatching of the

simple or complex, as directed by what we are pleased to call in-
stinct, as opposed to reason. Yet there is every gradation be-
tween the two.

Among the various races of dogs, the companions of man for
pies, for many may be found in books with which you are familiar.

404

Actions evincing the same mental attributes are also noticed in
wild animals, which have been tamed. You will reply, that these
qualities have been developed by human education ; but not so,
there must have been a latent capacity in the brain to receive the
education, and to manifest the results by the modification of the
habits. Now it is because we are vertebrates, and the animals of
which I have spoken are vertebrates, that we understand, though
imperfectly, their mental processes, and can develop the powers
that are otherwise latent. Could we comprehend them more fully
we would find, and we do find from time to time in the progress of
our inquiries, that what was classed with instinct is really intel-
lection.

When we attempt to observe animals belonging to another sub-
kingdom, Articulata, for instance, such as bees, ants, termites,
etc., which are built upon a totally different plan of structure,
having no organ in common with ourselves, the difficulty of inter-
preting their intellectual processes, if they perform any, is still
greater. The purposes of their actions we can only, divine by
their results. But anything more exact than their knowledge of
the objects within their scope, more ingenious than their methods
for using those objects, more complex, yet well devised than their
social and political systems, it is impossible to conceive.

We are not warranted in assuming that these actions are in-

Instead of concealing our igiiurana- uudi-r a word which thus used,
comes to mean nothing, let us rather admit the existence here
of a rational power, not only inferior to ours, but also different.

Thus proceeding, from the highest forms in each type of animal
life to the lower, and even down to the lowest, we may be pre-
pared to advance the thesis, that all animals are intelligent, in
proportion to the ability of their organization to manifest intelli-
gence to us, or to each other ; that wherever there is voluntary
motion, there is intelligence :— obscure it may be, not compre-
hended by us, but comprehended by the companions of the same
low grade of structure.

However this may be, I do not intend to discuss the subject at
present, but only wish in connection with this train of thought to
offer two suggestions.

The first is, that by pursuing different courses of investigation
in biology, we may be led to opposite results. Commencing with

495

the simplest forms of animal life, or with the embryo of the higher
animals, it may be very difficult to say at what point intelligence
begins to manifest itself; our attention is concentrated, therefore,
upon those functions which appear to be the result of purely me-
chanical arrangements, acted upon by external stimuli. The
animal becomes to our perception an automaton, and in fact, by
excising some of the nervous organs last developed in its growth,
we can render an adult animal an automaton, capable of perform-
ing only those habitual actions to which its brain, when in perfect
condition, had educated the muscles of voluntary motion. On the
other hand, commencing with the highest group in each type, and
going downwards, either in structural complication, or in age of
individual, it is impossible to fix the limit at which intelligence
ceases to be apparent.

I have in this subject, as in that of tracing the past history of
our insects, in the first part of this address, preferred the latter
mode of investigation ; taking those things which are nearest to us

The second consideration is, since it is so difficult for us to un-
derstand the mental processes, whether rational or instinctive (I
care not by what name they are called), of beings more or less
similar, but inferior to ourselves ; we should exercise great caution
when we have occasion to speak of the designs of One who is in-
finitely greater. Let us give no place to the crude speculations of
would-be-teleologists, who are indeed, in great part refuted already
by the progress of science, which continually exhibits to us higher
and more beautiful relations between the phenomenon of Nature
"than it hath entered into the mind of man to conceive." Let not
our vanity lead us to believe that because God has deigned to
guide our steps a few paces on the road of truth, we are justified
in speaking as if He had taken us into intimate companionship,
and informed us of all His counsels.

If I have exposed my views on these subjects to you in an
acceptable manner, you will perceive that in minds capable of
receiving such impressions, biology can indicate the existence of
a creative or directive power, possessing attributes, some of
which resemble our own, and controlling operations which we may
feebly comprehend. Thus far Natural Theology, and no farther.

What then is the strict relation of Natural History or biology
to that great mass of learning and influence which is commonly

496

called Theology ; and to that smaller mass of belief and action
which is called Religion?

Some express the relation very briefly, by saying that Science
and Religion are opposed to each other. Others again that they
have nothing in common. These expressions are true of certain
classes of minds ; but the greater number of thinking and edu-
cated persons see, that though the ultimate truths taught by each
are of quite distinct nature, and can by no moans come in conflict,
inasmuch as they have no point in common ; yet so far as these
truths are embodied in human language, and manipulated by
human interests, they have a common dominion over the soul of
man. According to the method of their government, they may
then come into collision even as the temporal and spiritual sover-
eigns of Japan occasionally did, before the recent changes in that
country.

In answering the query above proposed, it will be necessary to
separate the essential truths of religion from the accessories of
tradition, usage, and most of all, organizations and interpreta-
tions, which have in the lapse of time gathered around the primi-

With the latter, the scientific man must deal exactly like other
men, he must take it, or reject it, according to his spiritual gifts;

assail it as a man of science, for within his domain of investiga-
tion it does not belong.

With regard to the accessories of traditions, interpretations,
etc., our answer may be clearer, when we have briefly reviewed
some recent events in what has been written about as the Conflict
of Religion and Science. Some centuries ago, great theological
disgust was produced by the announcement that the sun and not
the earth was the centre of the planetary system. A few decades
ago profound dissatisfaction was shown that the evidence of or-
li.-.nii- Y.u- on the planet was very am i -nt. R.venth some annoy-

be suggested.

497

hed. New interpretations t'c
conflict with the scientific fac
ut difficulty. These much fe
of the strongest and most co

has been beneficial. Scholastic interpretations founded upon im-
perfect knowledge, or no knowledge, but mere guess, have been
replaced by sound criticism of the texts, and their exegesis in
accordance with the times and circumstances for which they were
written.

It must be conceded by fair minded men of both sides that these
controversies were carried on at times with a rudeness of expres-
sion and bitterness of feeling now abhorrent to our usages. The
intellectual wars of those days partook of the brutality of physical
war, and the horrors of the latter, as you know, have been ameli-

I fear that the unhappy spirit of contention still survives, and
that there are yet a few who fight for victory rather than for truth.
The deceptive spirit of Voltaire still buds forth occasionally ; he,
who, as you remember, disputed the organic nature of fossil -lielU,

would be used by others as a proof of a universal Noachian deluge.
The power of such spirits is fortunately gone for any potent influ-
ence for evil, gone *with the equally obstructive influence of the
scholastics with whom they formerly contended.

Since then, there is no occasion for strict Science and pure Re-
ligion to be in conflict, how shall the peace be kept between them ?

By Toleration and Patience. Toleration towards those who
believe less than we do, in the hope that they, by cultivation or
inheritance of aesthetic perception, will be prepared to accept
something more than Matter and Energy in the Universe, and to
believe that Vitality is not altogether undirected Colloid Chem-
istry.

Toleration also towards those who, on what we think misunder-
stood or insufficient evidence, demand more than we are prepared
to admit, in the hope that they will revise additional texts which

498

seem to conflict, or may hereafter conflict with facts deduced from
actual study of Nature, and thus prepare their minds for the re-
ception of such truths as may be discovered, without embittered
discussions.

Patience, too, must be counselled. For much delay will ensue
before this desired result is arrived at ; patience under attack, pa-
tience under misrepresentation, but never controversy.

Thus will be hastened the time, when the glorious, all sufficient
spiritual light, which though given through another race, we have
adopted as our own, shall shine with its pristine purity, freed from
the incrustations with which it has been obscured by the vanity
of partial knowledge, and the temporary contrivances of human
polity.

So, too, by freely extended scientific culture, may we hope that
the infinitely thicker and grosser superstitions and corruptions will
be removed, which greater age and more despostic governments
have accumulated around the less brilliant, though important re-
ligions of our Asiatic Aryan relatives. These accretions being
destroyed, the principal difficulty to the reception by those nations
of higher spiritual truths will be obviated, and the intelligent
Hindoo or Persian will not be tardy in recognizing in the pure life
and elevated doctrine of the sincere Christian, an addition to, and
fuller expression of religious precepts with which he is familiar.
In this manner alone may be realized the hope of the philosopher,
the dream of the poet, and the expectation of the theologian. A
Universal Science, and a Universal Religion, cooperating harmo-
niously for the perfection of man and the glory of his Creator.

THE CROCODILE IN FLORIDA.

Ik the warm, placid waters of tropical streams whose banks are
bordered by reedy marshes and forests of perpetual green, is the
home of the crocodile. About the middle of the day numbers
may be seen lying lazily on the banks enjoying the heat, their
polished scales shining in the sunlight, and all looking the very
picture of tropical languor and repose. Its daily food is the

499

fishes that inhabit its native element, but many a bright-plumed,
water-fowl and unsuspecting quadruped falls a prey to its rapacity.

seized in the huge reptile's powerful jaws, dragged under water,
drowned and devoured. The crocodile evinces a decided prefer-
ence for tainted meat, and after capturing large prey it is often
kept uneaten in the water until in a state of partial decomposition.
The males are very pugnacious and often fight desperately for

rigr.2ii.

possession of the females. Sometimes an individual is captured

leg is wholly or partly wanting. Last winter we killed an alli-
gator whose upper jaw was broken off squarely half way up to the
eyes by some long previous accident.

The female crocodile lays from twenty to thirty eggs at a time.
With her feet and nose she scoops a hole in the mud or sand on
the shore, taking care to select a slightly elevated situation, and in
this deposits her eggs in several layers, one upon another, placing
a coat of earth, reeds and grass over each layer. The heat gener-
ated by the fermentation of this mass is sufficient to hatch the
eggs in about thirty days.

While the crocodiles are distributed throughout all the southern
hemisphere, in fact in all tropical regions, their cousins, the alli-
gators, are confined to America ; one species, the A. Mississip-
perms "Gray, being especially abundant in the southern United
States. It was formerly thought that the crocodile did not inhabit
Australia, but it is now known to be there in respectable numbers,
some specimens of great size having been captured. No one spe-
cies of the Crocodilidce is universally distributed, but the genus
Crocodilus is widely known and has a greater range than any of its

500

congeners. The species are often confined to certain localities,
and in a few their limits are very circumscribed.

The two American species of Crocodilus, viz., rhombifer and
acutus, were first described by Cuvier as confined to the West
Indies and South America, which view was accepted by natural-
ists for a long time. Subsequently the C. acutus has been discov-
ered in different parts of Central America, and in 1870 Professor
Jeffries Wyman described a skull from Florida as belonging to
that species. Reports are current in Florida of a true crocodile
existing there, but specimens have not been secured until very
recently. The present year has thrown more light upon the sub-
ject by the capture of two fine specimens.

My personal observations on the subject were confined to the
southeast coast of Florida, particularly the vicinity of Biscayne
Bay. While there last winter collecting for the Museum of Prof.
Ward, of Rochester, New York, I obtained sight of a reptile that

convinced me was a crocodile. After two unsuccessful attempts
I succeeded in killing him by lying in wait for him with my rifle,
opposite his favorite mud-wallow on the bank of the stream. It
proved to be a male, — huge, old and ugly. His tenacity of life
was surprising, and his frantic struggles in and out of water made
the fight interesting for some time. He lived for quite an hour
after six rifle-balls had been fired into his nape in the direction of
the brain. He measured fourteen feet in length, and his girth at
a point midway between fore and hind legs was five feet two
inches. His teeth were large and blunt ; his head rugose and
knotty, with armor plates very large and rough, all conspiring to
give him a very ugly and savage appearance. On dissection it
was found that he had been very pugnacious, or else was a perse-
cuted and unfortunate individual. Three of his teeth were more
or less shattered ; the tibia and fibula of the right hind leg had
been broken in the middle and united, also one of the metatarsal
bones of the same limb ; about five inches had been bitten off the

ably an old wound, two of the vertebrae near the middle of the
tail had grown together solidly at an awkward angle.

The day following the above capture (January 22, 1*7.V) I had
the further good fortune to kill at the same spot the mate of this
crocodile, a beautiful female, measuring ten feet eight inches.

501

There was a striking contrast between the two specimens ! The
head of the female was regular in outline, comparatively smooth,
teeth white, regular and sharp, plates even in surface and contour,
and colors very marked. The entire under surface of both speci-
mens was pale yellow, shading gradually darker up the sides with
fine irregular streaks and spots of black. On the upper parts of
the female through the entire length the black and yellow mottling
was about uniform, the yellow rather predominating. The general
appearance of the female was decidedly yellowish, while the back
and tail of the male showed an almost entire absence of yellow,
the prevailing color being a leaden, lustreless black. In brightness

male greatly outranked her rough and burly lord. The stomachs
of both specimens were quite empty, but in the {esophagus of the
male were the torn remains of two mud-hens in a state of disgust-
ing decomposition. The ovary of the female contained four hun-
dred and twenty eggs, varying from the size of No. 8 shot to a
hen's egg, all perfectly spherical.

The exact locality of the captures was a narrow, very deep and
crooked stream known as Arch Creek, flowing from the Everglades
into the head of Biscayne Bay. While at Biscayne I collected
abundant evidence that crocodiles, though rare, exist in various
tributaries of the Bay. On the bank of Arch Creek, I found the
skull, fifteen inches long, minus the lower jaw, of a crocodile be-
longing to the same species as the large specimens. No one could

I succeeded in getting the perfect skull of a small specimen
killed a few weeks before in Indian Creek, on the east side of the
bay, quite near the seashore. Its length from occiput was seven
and one-half inches. I was shown a small stuffed specimen four-
teen and one-half inches in length, captured September 26, 1874,
:it the mouth of .Miami River, ten miles farther down the bay. All

half the time, being influenced by the tide. Brof. Ward has re-
cently received a crocodile (skin and skeleton) from Lake Worth,
Florida, ninety miles north of Biscayne Bay, which is of the same
species as the foregoing. The skin measures nine feet ten inches.

In determining the species of these specimens I follow the late
Dr. J. E. Gray, of the British Museum, as the best recent authority,
his synopsis of recent crocodilians being the latest, most minute

502

and comprehensive. See Trans. Zool. Soc, 1867, vi, p. 125, et
seq. Having been unable to examine the skull considered by-
Prof, Wyman it is impossible to give the differences between it
and those in hand, but these latter certainly do not answer to any
description of C. acutus, which at first I supposed them to be.

The following is Dr. Gray's description of G. acutus, and of the
genus which he calls

"Molinia. — Face elongate ; forehead swollen, convex, especially
in the adult ; orbits without any anterior ridge. Nuchal plates
two or four, small. Cervical disc rhombic, of six plates, side
plates generally small. The legs fringed with a series of trian-
gular, elongate scales. Toes webbed. Scales of the forearm and
thigh thin, -smooth."

i: m. ^ ■ : : : . .....

a long ridge ; the internal nostril posterior with an oblong sloping

< ; - . . .\::!ar\ - . :

of the maxillae"

"M. Americana.— Face slender, dorsal plates irregular; the
central series small, keeled ; lateral scattered, strongly keeled.
Nasal bones produced to the nostrils."

It is necessary to give the characteristics of the genus since a
very few points are sufficient to distinguish the species of Molinia
of which there are only two. I shall now describe specimens of
uhh-h there is a series of six, varying from fourteen and onedialf

inches to fourteen feet in length. The description refers to the
o<l nit specimens, of which we have three.

anterior ridge. Nuchal plates four, small ; three small keeled
scales on each side of the neck between nuchal and cervical plates,

504

and to indicate a new species for which I would propose the name
Crocodilus Floridanus, or Florida Crocodile.

Alligator M>* r: 1 j. 215) compared with the skull of a

crocodile (Fig. 214). Both are from the same locality, Biscay ne.
Florida. The length of the alligator to which this skull belonged
was nine feet ten inches, and that of the crocodile was ten feet
eight inches, the figure being taken from the skull of the female
here described.

I append the following measurements, in inches, of the three
largest crocodile skulls. The first is that of the male 14 feet in
length ; the second that of the female 10 feet 8 inches in length :
and the third, that of the Lake Worth specimen, 9 feet 10 inches
in length.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

Geographical Variation en Color among Squirrels. — We
have previously, in papers by Messrs. R. Ridgway and J. A. Allen,
presented our readers with the latest views on the subject of the
geographical variation in size, proportion- :m ,j color among North
American birds, and now reproduce in part a recent paper by Sir.
J. A. Allen on the same subject, particularly variations in color
as applied to the squirrels of America north of Mexico, published
in the " Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History '
(vol. xvi, Feb. 4, 1874). This is a subject to which local col-
lectors can very largely contribute by the transmission of marked

ied to the best advantage, as large numbers of the commonest

505

"First, in respect to the increase in intensity of color from the
north southward. Among the squirrels this increase is finely illus-
trated in Sciurus ///,./.*,„/,/.* and in Turn ><is strhitti s, representatives
of which from the southern parts of New York and Pennsylvania
are much more highly colored than are those from northern New
England and the British Provinces. Sciurus Carolinensis is per-
haps a still more marked example, in which the color vanes from
the light pure gray of the upper parts in New England specimens,
with a restricted' pale yellowish hrown dorsal area, to the rusty
gray dorsal surface of the Florida type, in which the whole upper
surface is usually strongly yellowish-rusty. This increase of color
southward is, however, still more strongly marked in the fox squir-
rels of the Mississippi Basin, the so-called Sciurus " ludovicianus."

"The variations in color occurring in representatives of the
same species at localities differing in longitude, is well shown in

a sullicientlv « ; : " ils ll,;lt (,,,t:lin

along a given parallel throughout the whole breadth of the conti-
nent, the Sciurus If,itls„nius group being the only instance among

in passingfroin the mo'ist, fertile prairies of the MissU-ippi \ alley

the interior V'- I ^n-ilic coast north

of the parallel of 40 5 . S^rnm^nl us trhlr.-, m .i;„>-otus furni>hes a
good illustration of the difi'erences in color that occur between

prairies and those inhabiting- the dry. barren plains, those from
Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa being much darker than
those from Western Nebraska. Western Kansas and Colorado.
Even specimens from Eastern Kansas are much darker than those
from the middle and western portions of the same State. In this
species the color is varied, in passing from the prairies to the
plains, not onh ' k ground color, but

by the considerably greater breadth of the light spots and stripes
in the specimens from the plains." ^

"But two of the most instructive and interesting groups of the
Scinrtdw, in this connection, are those of which the common Sci-
urus Hudsouius, and Tamias quadrivittatus are respectively famil-
iar examples, tlx 1 " 1ki11 ^ 1 10

506

brighter and smaller southern form in the eastern Atlantic States.
On the arid plains of the Platte and Upper Missouri rivers it pre-
sents a markedly paler or more fulvous phase, well illustrated by
specimens from the Black Hills. This form becomes even still
paler and more fulvous at the eastern base of the main chain of
the Rocky Mountains, between latitude t.V and 47°, where it be-
gins to pass by insensible stages of gradation into the so-called
$ci,,r,i« Rirhardsoni of the Iiockv Mountains north of 45°, and
the so-called Sciurus Fremonti of the Rocky Mountains south of
about the same parallel. In the collections made in Western Wy-
oming, near the Yellowstone Lake, occur many specimens which
are soexaetlv intermediate between the three forms (S. Un<l.-« ■»<'»■•<.
S. Hh'hunUnni and ,V. Fremont!) whose habitats here meet, that it
is impossible to say which of the three forms they most resemble.
At the same time specimens can be selected which will form a se-
ries of minute gradations from the pale form of Hudsonius from
the Plains, on the one hand, to the Richardsoni and Fn>„\n, t ti
forms on the other. To the southward of this district we soon
pass into the region of the typical Fremont;, and to the westward
and northward into the habitat of the Richardsoni type. Kven
the country about the sources of the Gros Ventres Fork of the
Snake River, is alreadv within the range of the true Richards;,,!.
The habitat of S. Richards,,,,! extends from the main chain of the
Rocky Mountains, north of latitude 11", to the Cascade Range.
Here it becomes mixed with S. I)o„,,h,ss,\ which scai cely dilfers
from S. Richardsoni, except in being a little darker above, and m
bavin-- the ventral surface more or less strongly tinged with buff.

ward to Northern California, and northward probably to Sitka.
In Northern California the S. Douglassi meets the range of the
true S. Fremont), between which two forms there is here the most
gradual and intimate intergradation. In this group we have uence
four forms which, in their extreme phases of mutual divergence,
appear as diverse as four good, congeneric species need to, but
which, at points where their respective habitats join, pass into
each other as gradually as do the physical conditions of the locah-

The Tamias quadrivittatus group 1 presents an equally or even
more striking range of variation in color, and also varies to an
unusual degree in size. Beginning at the northward, we find that
specimens from as far south as lYmliiua. and thence northward,
are quite undistinguishable from specimens from Northeastern
Asia, or the so-called Tumiax " P,dl,t*i" (T. Pallas! lhdrd-- /.
striata* of most European authors). This form is found to only
a limited extent south of the northern boundary of the United

508

With the fulvous type of Tamias quadrivUtatus occurs a rufous
of Spermophilus grammurus ; but the form of Sciurus HinUonins
occurring over the same area, presents the exceptional condition
of a minimum amount of rufous."

Respecting the mammals and birds of the continent as a whole,
Mr. Allen recognizes at least five more or less well marked areaB
characterized by certain peculiarities of color variation, and finds
a striking correlation between these areas and the prevalent ten-
dencies of color-increase and the amount of aqueous precipita-

"The first region we propose now to define is that of the Atlantic
Slope, which will include not only the country east of the Allegha-
nies, but a large part of the British Possessions, extending west-
ward at least as far as Fort Simpson, and thence northward and
westward to Alaska, including, apparently, all of that territory
north of the Alaska Mountains, with an annual rainfall through-
out the whole of this extended region of about thirty-five to forty-
five indies. Over this region (to which we may give the general
term of Atlantic Region)- the colors may be regarded as of the
average or normal type, those of other regions being either of a
diminished or increased intensity.

The second region will embrace the Mississippi Valley, or more
properly the Mis-4>sippi Uasin, and may hence be termed the Mis-
sissippi Region. Here the annual rainfall reaches forty-live in
fifty-live inches, and over a small area east of the Lower Missis-
sippi even exceeds sixty inches. The tendency here is so often
to an increase of fulvous and rufous tints, that we may regard this
as the distinctive chromatic peculiarity of the region, these tints
heir maximum in the limited area of greatest humidity,
but a general increase in intensity of color is also more or less
characteristic of the region. A third region embraces the central
portion of the Rocky Mountains, and being developed most
strongly within the present territory of Colorado, and being also
mainly included within that territory, may he termed the C»l«fudn
Region. The tendency here again," as compared with the imme-
diately adjoining districts is to a general increase of intendiy of
color, with a No a marked inclination to the development of rufous
and fulvous tints, this region being also within the influence of a

mi- lily is here less than in either of the other regions alreadx de-
fined, the annual aqueous precipitation amounting to only ahoiit
twenty-four to thirty indies ; hut it is yet greatly in excess of that
of ihe districts immediately surrounding it.

The fourth region may be regarded as made up of the and
plains and deserts of the great central plateau of the Continent,
including not only the "Great Plains," usually so called, but the

deserts and plains of Utah, Nevada, Western Colorado, New Mex-
ico, Arizona and southwestward to Lower California, and may
hence' be appropriately termed the Campestrian Region. The an-
nual rainfall is generally below fifteen inches, but ranges, at dif-
ferent localities, from three inches to twenty. Here a general
paleness of color is the distinctive feature The fifth region be-
gins .on, the Pacific Const at about the -10th parallel, embracing a
comparatively narrow bolt along the coast from Northern Cali-
fornia to Sitka. Its peculiarities are most strongly developed
45° ; they also prevail east-
lin of the Rockv Mountains.

he Rocky Mountains presents features that may almost entitle it
o rank as a distinct region, as might also the region of maximum
ainfall in the Mississippi Region. The sou! hern half of Florida
3 also perhaps entitled to recognition as a distinct region, being
haracterized by excessive humidity and a subtropical intensity of
olor. It may also be necessary eventually to recognize as dis-
inct districts the almost rainless portions of the Campestrian

oking at the subject in this broad way the reader need
rprised at the suppression of a good many nominal spe-
L857 Professor Baird reduced the number of species of
>m twenty-four to ten, with two doubtful ones; Mr.
reduces them to Jive, with seven geographical varieties
i. The number of North American species of Sciuridse

BOTANY.

The Starch ov Zamia. — The roots of Zamia pumila yield a
large per cent, of starch. The plant grows abundantly at the
head of Biscayne Bay, Florida. I also found it, though not abun-
dantly, at New Smyrna and Cedar Keys, Florida. The soil at the
head of Biscayne Bay is full of loose pieces of limy rocks ; between
the interstices of these the plant grows ; this kind of soil suits it
best. The leaves have the general appearance of ferns ; its roots
are rough, of a gray color, and of the shape and size of parsnips.
Not only is it abundantly reproduced from seed, but any piece
left in the ground grows. It could be cultivated and made prof-
itable.

510

The root yields two kinds of starch, white and yellow ; also a
poisonous substance. The white starch is very nutritious and
makes excellent puddings, much nicer than sea moss, farina or
corn starch ; in fact, it is equal to any starch for domestic or man-
ufacturing purposes. The yellow starch is much lighter than the
white, and can be easily separated.

The roots yield a larger per cent, of white starch (hiring the dry

yellow starch. If used at this period a good slice is taken oil"
the top and bottom, containing mostly yellow starch, which is
feed to chickens and hogs. They, however, never get fat, as the
substance contains but little nourishment. If the root is used
in the dry or resting season, the very tip of the root is taken off,
and a very thin slice with the leaves.

After the roots are washed clean and deprived of the neces-
sary slice from top and bottom, they are then ground into a
pulp, mixed with water and which is passed through a screen.
This process carries off the poisonous matter as it is run off.
The yellow, being so light and not adhesive to the white starch,
is easily taken off. Both kinds dry easily in the sun. If the
water and starch remain together long, fermentation takes
place, and the two grades of starch will not separate. It is
therefore best to grind the roots quickly, draw off the water and
separate the starches promptly, as a pure white article is required
for commerce.

The Seminole Indians make but little starch for sale ; they have
not the facilities for separating and drying ; but they make a good
deal for their own use, as they are not particular about leaving
the less nutritious yellow with the white. The Indians make it
into mush, either separate or mixed with flour ; they also make
bread of it, using the starch mixed with corn meal or flour. There
are several mills among the white settlers of Biscayne Bay for the
manufacture of this starch.

The seed of this plant is covered with a bright orange pulp,
which, if eaten, has a dangerous narcotic effect. The leaves of
the Zamia are the favorite food of that beautiful butterfly Eumceus
Atala, which surpasses in beauty all other butterflies of Biscayne
Bay ; it is more numerous than any other ; it is not exaggeration
to say that it equals in number all the other species of butterflies
in that region. They fly low, with a slow, measured motion,

512

gin of the vein and the articulation of the foot to the body, it
turns at a right angle, the ends of the two other lobes passing a
little beyond it, and ends in a blind sac, less vertical than the
others, slightly ascending at the end, which lies just above the
insertion of the second pair of feet. The two middle lobes are
directed to the collective vein. Each lobe is flattened out some-
what and lies close to the posterior wall of the compartment in
which it is situated, as if wedged in between the wall, and the
muscles between it and the anterior portion of the compartment.
Each lobe also accompanies the bases of the first four tegumentary
nerves. I could not by injection of the gland, make out any gen-
eral opening 1 into the cavity of the body or any connection with
the hepatic or great collective vein ; any attempts to inject the
gland from the veins failing. The four lobes certainly end in
blind sacs. The lobes are irregular in form, appearing as if
twisted and knotted, and with sheets and bands of connective tis-
sue forming the sheaths of the muscles among which the gland
lies. Each lobe, when cut across, is oval, with a yellowish interior
and :i small central cavity, funning, evidently, an excretory duct.
The gland externally is of a bright brick red. The glandular
mass is quite dense, though yielding. It is singular that this con-
spicuous gland, though it must have engaged their attention, has
not been noticed by Van der Hoeven, Owen or A. Milne-Edwards
in their accounts of dissections of this animal.

When examined under a Hartnack's No. 9 immersion lens and
Zentmayer's B eye piece, the reddish external cortical portion
consists of closely aggregated irregulnrly rounded nucleated cells
of quite unequal size, and scattered about in the interstices be-
tween the cells are dark reddish masses which give color to the
gland. They are very irregular in size and form, and twenty
hours after a portion of the parenchyma was submitted to micro-
scopic examination vibrated to and fro. I am reminded in the
vibrating movements of these bodies, of Siebold's (Anatomy of
the Invertebrates) description of similar bodies in the renal
organs of the Lamellibranchs, i.e., the gland of Bojanus. He
says in a foot-note, p. 214 (Burnett's Translation), "If the walls
of these organs are prepared in any way for microscopic examin-

514

ulus Polyphemus, in the laboratory of the Anderson School of
Natural History at Penikese Island, Mass. — A. S. Packard, Jr.

Birds Breeding on Penikese Island.— The following birds
have been observed by me, breeding upon the island during the
summer months of July and August, 1873, and '74.

Hirundo horreorum Wils. Barn swallow. Several nests have
been found in the barn and beneath several old sheds, and may be
called common.

Petrochelidon lunifrons Cab. Cliff swallow. One nest found on
the outside of an old shed. Rare.

Cotyle riparia Boie. Bank swallow. A small colony on the
northwest side of the Island in a small sand' bank. Common or

Passerculus Savanna Bon. Savanna sparrow. Found breeding
on the ground all over the Island. Common.

Pooecetes gramineus Bd. Grass finch, bay-winged bunting.
Several nests have been taken. Not common but may be found
more abundantly.

Melospiza melodia Bd. Song sparrow. Several nests have been
■found. Not rare.

Agelaeus pheniceus YieWL Red-winged blackbird. Nests in the
sedge grass, not very abundant, on the north shore of the larger
Island. Not rare.

Sturnella magna Vieill. Meadow lark. Breeds in the fields of
the larger Island in several places. Common.

Tyrannus Carolinensis Cuv. Kingbird, bee martin. One nest
of four eggs was found by me in the bow of an old sail boat on

Tringoides macular ius Bon. Spotted sandpiper. A few pairs
have been found breeding along the shores and in the grass near
the shore. Common or not rare.

[Tachycineta bicolor was found breeding on the island in the
summer of 1873, by Mr. A. S. Scott, as we are informed by Mr.
C. O. Whitman.— Eds.]

Sterna hirundo Wils. Wilson's tern. Breeds abundantly all
along the shores and in the grass near the shores.

Sterna paradisea Law. Roseate tern. Breeds with the former,
but perhaps not quite so abundantly, but both breed by hundreds,
though they are fast leaving for more secure quarters.

516

hollow log or stump, this noise probably proves an effectual means
of communicating alarm to each other. After keeping our pets
about three months they escaped from us; we never knew how or
where ; the lid was pushed from the box and they were gone. — J.

M. MlLLIGAN.

Bears, etc., in Arizona. — In Dr. Cones' article on "The
Quadrupeds of Arizona" (Am. Naturalist, vol. 1, No. 7, p. 354),
I find but two species of the Ursidae mentioned as residents, and
one variety, U. horriceus, as extending into Mexico. While at-
tached to Lt. Wheeler's Expedition as Naturalist in 1871, I saw
large numbers of bear skins amongst the Coyote Apaches, then
living at Camp Apache in Eastern Arizona.

Black skins appeared most abundant, next grizzly, and occa-
sionally that of the cinnamon bear. The latter hides were in such
bad condition that I declined trading for them, although half a
pound of "Army plug" would have secured one.

The Indians, as well as the officers at the Post, informed me
that bears were abundant in the Mogollon Mts., but the former
seldom attack a grizzly. Dr. Soule, Post Surgeon, said, that
while taking a horse-back ride up the wooded banks of the Rio
del Sal one day. he suddenly came upon four large grizzly bears,
and as they did not show any disposition to leave, he suddenly re-
traced his tracks to the Post. One large bear, of the same species
also, upon another occasion had the curiosity to cross the ravine
and go about the parade ground, until fired at by the sentinels,
when he trotted off, threw himself over the precipice (on the river
side of the post) into the water, swam across and disappeared
amongst the pines.

At Bill Williams Mt., we shot one grizzly, and found numerous
tracks around the springs. Wild Turkeys were occasionally seen,
and as we approached Postal's Ranche, about twenty miles north
of Ft. Whipple, we saw and chased several herds of Antelope.
While in the mountains we also obtained live specimens of Cervus
macrotis Say. which appeared rather abundant. There is another
mammal, the beaver (Cnxtor ( "(uxulcnsis Kuhl.), mute abundant
near Camp Verde. Five miles northeast of the Post, Beaver

many pelts are annually collected, though a few years will suffice
to exterminate a race, covering so small an area, and hemmed in
by waterless deserts and rocky canons.— W. Hoffman, M.D.

[In the Fish collection of the Peabody Academy of Science

there are examples of t

>oth of the above m

entioned albir

10s. The

haddock, agreeing with

the description givi

m by Prof. G<

)ode, was

taken off Newburyport

some years ago, ai

id sent to the

.Museum

es: During t

in Mass. Bay, a si

nail Cyclopter

„, (lump

fish) and the eel were v

rashed aboard the s

chooner « Her

o," Capt.

■ the gale anc

1 brought

them to the Museum on his arrival at. Salem the next day.— P.
W. P.]

Chloral as a Preservative. — As it is very desirable that a
substitute tor alcohol be found for the purpose of preserving spec-
imens, we copy the following from the New York "Tribune," trust-
ing that trials of the experiment will be reported.

The "Philadelphia American Times" contains an article by Dr.
W. W. Keen upon the anatomical, pathological, and surgical uses of
chloral, in which he recommends this substance very strongly for
the preservation of objects of comparative anatomy and natural
history. It is used by injeetion into the blood vessels, or by im-

pieparations now in use. Its special advantage is that the color
of the object is preserved perfectly, and all the parts have a nat-
ive to affect the general health of the experimenter or to injure

For preserving a subject for dissection, half a lb. of chloral will
sutlice at a cost of a dollar or less. A solution for preserving
specimens of natural history of ten or twelve grains to the ounce
of water is quite sufficient, is much cheaper than alcohol, and the

520

fishes ; and Jacobi, who was the first to discover (in the course of
the last century) the mechanism of fecundation among these fishes,
had noted the proportion of twin monsters in fishes' eggs. His
observations and those of Lereboullet coincide with the result
obtained by M. Dareste, that while external conditions may often
determine the formation of simple monsters, they are absolutely
without effect in regard to the evolutions of double monstrosities.

Importation of useful Insects. — At a recent meeting of the
London Entomological Society, Mr. Dunning stated that he had
received a communication from Mr. Nottidge. of New Zealand,
asking if it were possible to send over humble-bees, in order, by
means of cross fertilization, to procure seeds from clover, which
plant remained infertile in the colony, failing suitable insect agency
to aid its fertilization. It was suggested that by procuring a suffi-
cient number of humble-bees when in a dormant condition, and
keeping them in that state (by means of ice) dining the voyage,
the result might be obtained. Mr. McLachlan mentioned that he
had received a letter from Capt. Hutton, from the same colony,
stating that indigenous A/>hi'!i;s did not, apparently, exist there,
but imported species were becoming very destructive, and lie asked
if it would be possible to import Chrysopa.— Entomologist's
Monthly Magazine, Jan., 1871.

Nesting of the Prairie Warbler in New Hampshire. — I ob-
tained in northern New Hampshire, at the latitude of Mt. Wash-
ington (44£°), a nest of the prairie warbler, containing four eggs,
which differ from all other specimens that I have ever seen. It
is also a summer resident there, though Lynn, Mass., in 42±° lati-
tude, has hitherto been generally accepted as the northern limit
at which this bird breeds. — II. D. Minot.

GEOLOGY.

Elden Hole, Derkyshire. — We copy the following abstract
from "Nature" of a paper read by Mr. R. Pennington before the
l.iierarv and I'hiloM.phical Society of Manchester, dan. 2G, as^of

bottomless pits in this country.

"Near the road from Luxton to (.'a-tleton. and about four miles
from the latter place, stands Elden Hill, in the side of which is

522

is now added, from Calcutta, a memoir by Dr. Cunningham on
"Microscopic Examinations of Air," which derives importance
not less from the moderate and unprejudiced tone of the author
than from his evident familiarity with the minute organisms in-
volved in the investigations. In looking for some perceptible
connection between the prevalence of certain forms of disease and
the occurrence of any particular bodies in the air, the dust accumu-
lated on shelves, etc., was avoided as too liable to error, and the
solid particles were collected directly from the air by a modification
of Dr. Maddox' apparatus, a glass slip painted with glycerine be-
ing arranged five feet above the ground in such a manner that the
painted surface should be exposed vertically to a stream of air.
Some sixty observations were made between February ami Sep-
tember, l.s 72, including both dry and rainy seasons; and powers
of from 400 to 1,000 were generally used. The following syn< .pais
of microscopic deposits found is condensed from Rev. M. J. Berk-
ley's review in the Quart. Jour. Mic. Science.

1. Particles of silicious matter.

2. Particles of carbonaceous matter.

3. Fragments of hair and other animal substances.

4. Fragments of cellular tissue of plants.

5. Pollen grains ; of several common grasses, and a few of other
plants. No seeds positively recognized.

6. Algse, few; but besides " those lower genera which appear
to be the early stages of lichens" (!) there were fragments of
Oscillatorise, Desmidiaceoe, Closterium, and possibly Diatomacere.

7. Sporidia of lichens ; frequent.

8. Spores or sporidia of fungi. These are by far the most
abundant bodies; which is more remarkable by contrast with
Ehrenberg's observations on the dust of the trade winds. Many of
the fungoid organisms are easily referred to faniiliar genera, Mac-
rosporium, Claclosporium, Sporidesmium, Puccinia, etc. Much
the most common are sporidia of Spheriaceos frequently in a state
of germination, both in dry and hot seasons. True Torula3 do not
appear to be present, but the yeast fungus, which after proof that
it is nothing more than a condition of certain species of Penicil-

Probably several of the bodies are spores of Myxogastrsi, the
Amsebaj which appear in certain specimens of pure rain water being

52 1

in the higher strata of the atmosphere was examined by means of
a kite, which being attached to other kites sometimes attained an
elevation of 1000 feet. Pollen was found to be much more largely
present at the upper levels than at the ' breathing level,' in the pro-
portion, in fact, of 19 to 1. Abundant proof was obtained of the
presence of fungoid spores in large quantities in the air. In one
experiment the spores of a cryptogam, at 1,000 feet, were so numer-
ous that they could not be counted ; at a rough estimate they could
not be less than 30-40,000 to the square inch. That these organ-
ized contents travel through the air to a considerable distance

Manchester, but within the boundary of one of the most densely
populated parts, and in no direction within less than one-third of
a mile of grass land. The quantity of pollen was about one-tenth
of that collected in the country."

NOTES.

The American Association for the Advancement of
SciENCE.-The twenty-fourth meeting of the Association was
held in Detroit, Mich., beginning on Wednesday. August 11, and

in- themselves as present, in place of 225 the previous year; 96
new members were elected, while last year 118 elections were
made. The falling off in attendance is unquestionably due to the
want of arrangements with the railroads, by which the usual reduc-

at which the announcement relating to railroads was made. Per-
haps in no previous year has the necessity for reduction in travel-
ling expenses, caused by the general business depression, been so
greatly felt as in the present one. As the cities inviting the As-
sociation to hold its meetings from year to year, do so in a most
cordial manner, with the anticipation of large meetings, it be-
comes an important duty of the Local Committees that are formed
every year to give the matter of transportation early attention.
Railroad companies carry on their work by a complicated system
of agencies, and it takes a long time to obtain the consent and
issue of proper orders from the right parties. The companies, as
a rule, are inclined to grant return passes to members attending
the meetings, when the matter is properly laid before them, and

the way of attaining the desired end is by application of the Local
Committee several months in advance of the meeting, so early in

ceived by members during the month of June, before the general

Of the 13G papers entered, 2 were read in General Session in

were read in Section B, including those of the Sub-section of
Geology, formed on the last day of the meeting. Of the remain-
ing 17 nothing was heard, and they were probably withdrawn by
their authors or failed to pass the Several Committees.

The general character of the papers read was certainly above
the average of many previous meetings, and the various Commit-
tees were well up to their work. The only drawback we noticed,
being that of the formation of a Geological Sub-section on the
last day, which resulted in a number of important papers being

think a great mistake is made by the Sections not agreeing on
what Sub-sections are necessary on the first day, though not neces-
sarily forming them until later in the meeting, and thus enable the
Committees to so arrange the business as to give all the papers a
fair chance. This could easily be done if members would make

meeting. We understand that the feeling in jhe Standing Com-
mittee was very strong in favor of giving precedence, at future
meetings, to those papers entered up to the first day, and as the
Committee is now composed of so large a permanent body, the les-
sons taught at one meeting will not be lost at the following. An
important move was made in forming a permanent Sub-section of
Anthropology, on the principal of that of Chemistry in Section A.

B, and will undoubtedly be the means of bringing a very lar-e

The new constitution was thoroughly tested at the meeting and

one was evidently satisfied that under them the Association would
move along with the least possible amount of friction. Several

526

of the past presidents were present, and their advice in the Stand-
ing Committee was evidently of great benefit. As alluded to in
the closing remarks by President Hilgard, the several summer

vented ;i number of the formerly constant attendants from taking-
part in the meeting, but as their work in the field shows what
is being done to advance science, and as the results which they
attain will, in part, naturally be brought before the next meeting,
those present at the past meet ing could not complain of the ab-
sence of many who were, nevertheless, much missed.

The citizens of Detroit did all that could be expected in the
way of social enu r'ainmenN. excursions, and provision for the

Association goes for the first time, that they did not, in general,
fully appreciate the importance of the meeting until it had been

tere.-ted. and the seeds sown during the Association week will bear

established the very promising and important ••Seieiititic Associa-
tion of Detroit," and it is certainly no small object gained for the
advancement of science if the meetings of the Association thus
tend to develop the formation of local societies for scientific re-
search. While speaking thus of the citizens as a whole, it must

ciation, so characteristic of the west, was wanting in a number of
gentlemen and ladies of Detroit who entered with spirit into the
work and objects of the meeting. The very cordial welcome ex-
tended by Mr. Walker, on Wednesday morning, in behalf of the
citizens, and the graceful remarks of Mr. Wells at the

objects which the Association has in view.

The address of the retiring President, Dr. LeConte, is printed
in full in this number of the Naturalist, and we propose to give
those of the Vice Presidents in the next.

The results of the donation by Mrs. Thompson were presented
to the meeting in the form of a printed quarto volume, containing
a Monograph of Fossil Butterflies by Mr. Scudder, and was so

The President and Fellows of Harvard College voted, some
time since, to accept the fund accumulated by the Agassiz Memo-
rial Committee for the use of the Museum of Comparative Zool-
ogy. In announcing the acceptance, President Eliot wrote :

"It will be a grateful duty for the President and Fellows, in
executing the trust which the Committee have laid upon thorn, to

of Prof. Agassiz, while they build up and enlarge the Museum of
Comparative Zoology to the full proportions which his prophetic
zeal imagined for it. The continuous growth of the museum is
assured through the successful labors of the committee."

BOOKS RECEIVED.

T 131 IE

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. IX. — OCTOBER, 1875. — No. 10.

ADDRESS
J. W. DAWSON*

aw causes only, w!. il 1 indicate that

tiey must result from many concurrent forces and determinations
f force. We have all no doubt read those ingenious, not to say
musing, speculations in which some entomologists and botanists
ave indulged with reference to the mutual relations of flowers
ncl haustellate insects. Geologically the facts oblige us to begin

:ie desire of insects for non-existent honey, and the adaptations of
lants to the requirements of non-existenf suctorial apparatus, we
ave to evolve the marvellous complexity of floral form and color-
lg, and the exquisitely delicate apparatus of the mouths of haus-
jllate insects. Now when it is borne in mind that this theory
nplies a mental confusion on our- part precisely similar to that
Inch in the department of mechanics actuates the seekers for

plant and the insect have to be worked out by a series of -
rent evolutions so complex and absolutely incalculable
aggregate, that the cycles and epic;

we are accused of attempting to construct the universe by meth-
ods that would baffle Omnipotence itself, because they are simply
absurd. In this aspect of them indeed such speculations are
nece— arily futile, because no mind can grasp all the complexities
of even any one case, and it is useless to follow out an imaginary
line of development which unexplained facts must contradict at
every step. This is also no doubt the reason why all recent at-
tempts at constructing " Phylogenies " are so changeable, and why
no two experts can agree about almost any of them.

A second aspect in which such speculations are too partial, is in
the unwarranted use which they make of analogy. It is not un-
usual to find such analogies as that between the embryonic devel-
opment of the individual animal and the succession of animals in
geological time placed on a level with that reasoning from anal-
og}' by which geologists apply mo lern can-.- to explain geological
formations. No claim could be more unfounded. When the ge-
ologi.st studies ancient limestones built up of the remains of corals,
and then applies the phenomena of modern coral reefs to explain

550

seen world where it is no longer the exception but the eternal

plant, the animal or man, bear the same testimony, and exist as
outposts put forth in the succession of ages from that higher
heaven that surrounds the visible universe. In them, too, Al-
mighty power is no doubt conditioned or limited by law, yet they
bear more distinctly upon them the impress of their Maker, and,
while all explanations of the physical universe which refuse to

tial and in the end incomprehensible, this destiny falls more
quickly and surely on the attempt to account for life and its suc-
cession on merely materialistic principles.

Here, again, however I must remind you that creation, as main-
tained against such materialistic evolution, whether by theology,
philosophy or Holy Scripture, is necessarily a continuous, nay, an
eternal influence, not an intervention of disconnected acts. It is
the true continuity, which includes and binds together all other

It is here that natural science meets' with theology, not as an
antagonist, but as a friend and ally in its time of greatest need ;
and I must here record my belief that neither men of science nor
theologians have a right to separate what God in Holy Script uiv
has joined together, or to build up a wall between nature and rc-
igion, and write upon it "no thoroughfare." The science that
does this must be impotent to explain nature and without hold on
the higher sentiments of man. The theology that does this must
sink into mere superstition.

In conclusion, can we formulate a few of the general laws, or
perhaps I had better call them the general conclusions respecting
life, in which all Palaeontologists may agree. Perhaps it is not

do no barm. We may, then, I think, make the following affirma-

1. The existence of life and organization on the earth is not
eternal, or even coeval with the beginning of the physical universe,
but may possibly date from Laurentian or immediately pre-Lau-

2. The introduction of now species of animals and plants has
been a continuous process, not necessarily in the sense of deriva-

BIOGRAPHIES OF SOME WORMS.

mouth, and the posterior leading into the anus. The alimentary
canal is much bent on itself. The opening of the pharynx is sur-
rounded by a fringe of tentacles, arising from the peritoneum or
lining membrane next to the outer test. The capacious pharynx
is perforated with slits, and serves as a respiratory cavity compar-
able with that of the worm, Balanoglossus. At the bottom of this
respiratory sac opens the true mouth, which communicates by an
(Esophagus with the stomach, while the intestine is twisted so that
the anus opens near but posterior to the mouth. There is a ner-
vous ganglion on the dorsal side of the body situated at a point
between the two external orifices, sending threads to the two
openings in the test and the pharynx. The heart is a short tube
open at both ends. Its action may be beautifully seen in the
transparent Perophora of our coast. The current of blood is
momentarily reversed, so that each end becomes, as Huxley re-
marks, " alternately arterial and venous."

Such in general terms is the structure of a typical simple
ascidian as well as the compound ascidians, and the Pyrosoma
and Sal pa. The aberrant Appendicularia is, as has been observed,
provided with a tail, and resembles the tailed young of the higher

The ascidians are, for the most part, hermaphrodites, the ovary
and testis being lodged in the same individual.

Development While Milne-Edwards discovered that the larvae
of certain ascidians were tad-pole like, Kowalevsky, in 1866,
studied the development of the ascidians and threw a flood of
light on their history. The following account is an abstract of
his classic memoir. The early stages of most ascidians is typified
by the mode of growth of Phattusia mamittata Cuv., while the
mode of growth from the free swimming larval period to the adult

confirmed by Kupffer and others, while exceptional modes of de-
velopment were pointed out by Lacaze-Duthiers and also Kupffer,
who found that the larva} of Molgula have no tail.

While some ascidians, such as Perophora, increase by budding,

method^of reproduction is°by eggs and sperm cells. The eggs of

yolk-kin, but surrounded by a layer of jelly containing yellow

555

After fertilization by the sperm cells, which enter the substance
of the egg tail foremost, the yolk undergoes total segmentation.
The next step is the invagination of the ectoderm, a true Gastrula
state resulting. Fig. 217, A (after Kowalevsky), represents the
Gastrula; 7i, the primitive digestive cavity ; <>, the primitive open-
cavity (n) appears with an external opening. This cavity is

formed by a union of two ridges which grow out from the upper
part of the germ. This is the central nervous system, and in the

see, says Kowalevsky, a complete analogy in the mode of origin

The next important stage is the formation of the tail. The pear-
shaped germ elongates and com racl a poster* >r\y until of theform in-

558

adult aseidian form meanwhile lias boon attained and the very
small individuals differ for the most part only in size from those

It will be seen that some highly important features, recalling

life of the embryo ascidian. Kowalevsky remarks that "the

tion cells into the cells of the embryo, the formation of the seg-
mentation cavity, the conversion of this cavity into the body
cavity, and the formation of the digestive cavity through invag-
ination— these are all occurrences which are common to many
animals and have been observed in Amphioxus, Sagitta, Phoronis,
Echinus, etc. The first point of difference from other animals in
the development of all vertebrates is seen in the formation of the
dorsal ridges and their closing to form a nerve-canal. This mode

allying the Ascidians to the vertebrates, is the presence of a
ch'onh, dorsal 7.s, first seen in the adult Appendicular by J.
Muller. This organ is regarded by Kowalevsky to be functionally,
tis well as genetically, identical with that of Amphioxus. This
was a startling conclusion, and stimulated Professor Kupffer of
Kiel to study the ombrvofo- v of the ascidians anew. He did so, and
the results this careful observer obtained, led him to fully endorse
the conclusions reached by Kowalevsky, particularly those regard-
ing the unexpected relations of the ascidians to the vertebrates,
and it would appear from the facts set forth by these eminent ob-
servers, as well as Metschnikoff, Ganin, Ussow and others, that the
vertebrates have probably descended from some type of worm re-
sembling larval ascidians more perhaps than any other vermian
type, though it is to be remembered that certain tailed larval Dis-
tomse appear to possess an organ resembling a chorda clorscdis,
and farther investigation on other types of worms may lead to
discoveries throwing more light on this intricate subject of the
ancestry of the vertebrates. At any rate, it is among the lower

the vertebrates, as the Ccelenterates. Eehhmdenns, the Moilu-k-,
Crustacea and Insects, are too circumscribed and specialized
groups to afford any but characters of analogy* rather than affinity.

561

projections, like those in certain Echinoderm larvae. In all re-
spects the Actinotrocha is a true Cephahda.

We will now, with Metschnikoff, follow the life-history of the
Actinotrocha. The earliest stage he observed was when the larva
had a transparent, ciliated body, with an umbrella-like expansion
on the head, covering the mouth region, while the end of the body
was truncated. The young at this stage was much like a Phoronis
larva. Soon four projections arise at the end of the body, and
twelve long, arm-like projections grow out by the time the larva

When the larva is about to transform into the Sipunculus, the
end of the intestine bends up, opening outwards near the mouth.
The umbrella is gradually withdrawn into the mouth, so that
finally only a crown of short tooth-like projections surrounds the
mouth. Finally the whole umbrella disappears in the oesophagus,
is actually swallowed, while the arms on the end of the body
are absorbed and disappear, and the end of the intestine projects
far out from the body behind the mouth. By this time the Sipun-
culus form is clearly indicated, the body being long and slender
and the mouth surrounded by a crown of short tentacles, and the
anal opening is withdrawn within the head. The change from the
free-swimming larva to the sedentary worm is effected in a very

The Sipunculus, then, so far as its history is known, passes
through a Cephalula stage before transforming into the adult

X. ANNUL AT A.
The life-history of Balanoglossus, a peculiar worm found in fine
sand along our whole coast from Cape Ann to Beaufort, North
Carolina, is one of singular interest. Its free swimming larva was
regarded by Muller, who discovered and called it Tornaria, as the
young of some starfish. Later studies by eminent naturalists only
seemed to confirm this opinion, until in 1869 Metschnikoff sug-
gested that it might be the larva of the worm, first .k^ribed
* under the name of Balanoglossus, or whale's tongue, by Delle

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. IX. 36

562

Chiaji, and Mr. A. Agassiz fully confirmed tht suggestion, giving
an account of the intermediate stages between the larval and adult

The Tornaria (Fig. 220 2 after A. Agassiz) seems in many re-
spects like some cchinoderm larvae, differing from any yet known,
however, in having an organ, the so-called heart (h) situated at
the base of the canal leading from the water system to the dorsal
pore. The water system is very fully developed. Mr. Agassiz
s;iys that the natural position of Tornaria in the water while mov-
ing, is usually with the eye-specks uppermost. "They revolve
quite rapidly upon their longitudinal axis, and at the same time,

Fig. 220.

inclining this axis, advance by a motion of translation, or revolve
upon either of the extremities as a fulcrum. Previous to the
transformation of Tornaria it is quite transparent ; the brilliant
carmine, violet or yellow pigment-spots are closely crowded along
the broad belt of anal vibratile cilia, as well as smaller spots on
the longitudinal bands of smaller cilia. The eye-specks are black
and extremely prominent. The large and powerful cilia of the
broad anal belt move comparatively slowly, more like the cilia <■»'
the embryo of mollusks, as has already been observed by Mailer.

The Tornaria soon throws off its disguise of a young Kdiiii'>-
derm, and now begins its strange transformations. Previous to

any other change two gills develop from the round bag-shaped di-
verticula of the oesophagus, and afterwards three more pairs of gill-
slits arise, somewhat as in the } T oung Ascidian. Agassiz then re-
marks that the "passage of Tornaria with the young Balano-
glossus is very sudden, taking place in a few hours; but unlike
the transition from the Pluteus into the Echinoderm, there is no
resorbition of any portion of the larva." The body lengthens,
the proboscis is indicated and assumes much of the form of
the adult, the four pairs of gills are well developed, the cilia drop
off first, the longitudinal bands and finally the transverse ones,
and then the collar becomes well marked. The young worm, for
it rapidly assumes the adult Balanoglossus likeness, though much
shorter proportionally, now instead of swimming " creeps rapidly
over the bottom by means of its proboscis, which acts as a sort of
propeller taking in water at the minute opening of the anterior
extremity of the proboscis, and expelling it through an opening
on its ventral side immediately in front of the mouth:"

Fig. 221, after Agassiz, represents the youngest stage found in
the sand, but it differs from the adult simply in the shorter body
and less distinct development of the collar, with fewer gills and

There is considerable difference of opinion regarding the affini-
ties of this worm. On first digging it out of the sand at Beaufort,
N. C, it seemed to us a most anomalous form, the large soft pro-
boscis, the singular gills, and the absence of setiform feet, appa-
rently forbidding its relationship to the true Annelides. Yet its
true position appears to be between the leeches and setiferous An-
nelides, with some Nemertian analogies. The reader can choose
between the opinion of Gege I lr tl it tl worm is the type of
an order equivalent to the Annelides, or a true Annelid allied to the
Terebrellidje, Clymenidaj and allied Annelides, as suggested by
Metschnikoff and Kowalevsky ; or that of A. Agassiz who regards
it as the type of a family intermediate between tubicolous Annel-
ides and Nemertians."

Turning now to the lowest Annulata, the leeches, in which there
are no bristles or gills, while each end of the body terminates in a
sucker, it has been found by Rathke ami Kowalevsky that their

which there are bristles. In the leeches the sexes are united in
the same individual, except in the genus Malacobdella. The eggs

after fertilization undergo total segmentation. There is a primi-
tive band much as in insects, and the adult form is attained before
tlif ;iniiu:il is hatched. There is no metamorphosis. So with the
earthworms. Kowalevsky studied the mode of development of
two species. As nothing has heretofore been known of the life-
history of so common a creature we will delay a moment to learn
the results of the Russian naturalist's observation. The eggs of
the European Lumbricus agricola were laid while the worm was in
confinement in January and^ February. They were laid in nu-

though usually only three or four embryos were found in a capsule.
The egg-capsules of Lumbricus rubellus were found in dung.

not to correspond to the gastrula condition of other worms, al-

there are two primitive germ-lanielhc. Later in emluyoiiic life,
a primitive band like that of insects (which will be described
farther on), rests on the outside of the yolk, as in the leach (Hirudo
medicinalis). Finally, the form of the earthworm is attained
before it breaks through the egg-shell, and it hatches without un-
dergoing a metamorphosis, in a condition differing but slightly
from that of the adult worm so familiar to us, the body being pro-

We now come to the sea worms, or Annelides, in which there
are external gills and often a complicated locomotive apparatus,
consisting of fleshy oar-like projections from the body, and strong
bristles. They have free-swimming larva?, which by a complicated
niet:iniorph<»-i>, coinparaMe with that of the Nemertian worms,
attain the adult worm-condition.

A singular type is Phoronis, which lives in a membranous tube
attached to rocks, and recalls strikingly the appearance of a Poly-
zoan, as it has a true lophophore and the inte-t me open- externally
near the mouth. It is in fact a connecting link between the Annel-
ides and the Polyzoa. Its life-history as told by Metschnikotf is
nearly identical with that of Sipunculus.

We will now in a fragmentary way study the mode of develop-
ment of certain typical Annelides, beginning with the lower forms.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

A Late Paper on Birds. 1 — Mr. William Brewster's recent
visit to West Virginia results in a series of notes on a hundred
species of birds, one-fifth of which are Sylvicolidce, and one-eighth
FringiUidcB. The observations were made from about the begin-
!,;„_ •., tli. I.cijil of fie •• -ea-on," and include some extended

England ornithologist is less familiar Hum he is with some others,
such having naturally attracted the writer's special attention.
Thus we have good notices of such birds as the Polioptila, Thry-
othorus Indovicianus, IMmithernx vermivorus, Dendrceca coerulea,
Seiurus ludovicinnus, Oporor nix for moms, Icteria virens, Myiodi-
octes nictratus, Cardinalis, etc. The writer dwells upon the song,
bringing to this matter an appreciative ear; and indeed it may be
said that the whole paper is marked by results of unusually close
and well-directed observation, showing the author's trained capac-
ity for good sound field work. The list takes, without question, a
fair place in our faunal series, and very acceptably complements
the previous one written by Mr. Scott, 2 from a locality close at
hand.

The "Annals of the Lyceum," in which this paper appears are
"looking up" in ornithology, at least so far as number of authors
are concerned, and promise to become a more favorite medium of
publication than they have hitherto been. In saying this, we do
not overlook Mr. Lawrence's widely known and fully appreciated
series, of fifty or sixty papers, which for many years has given the
"Annals" their chief ornithological weight, as Mr. Cassin's .lid the
Philadelphia "Proceedings." The prompt appearance of the sig-
natures of late, and the admirable typographical execution of the
Salem Press, are strong points in favor of the "Annals." The
present paper appears to have been carefully read in the proof,

fied that care bestowed upon details of typography is pains well
taken. Comeliness of appearance is well worth a thought ; and

(570)

571

attention to the shape of names tends to this result. The specific
name of the house-wren is aklon not cedon; the generic name of
the wood-warblers is Dendnvca, not Dcndroicu. Occasional airing
of the Greek roots is as good for the health of the outgrowing
words, as stirring the soil about the roots of a tree is for its vigor.
In writing MniotiUa instead of the customary Mniotilta, did Mr.

For that is the way Yieillot spells the word, if we remember

Morse's First Book of Zoology. 1 — This charming little book
will, we imagine, be immensely liked by young people, whether
they use it as a text-book or receive it as a holiday present. It is
designed for boys and girls, and presupposes an entire ignorance

study of the objects themselves. The writer tells young people
how and where to look for specimens. After an excursion in
search of shells, insects, etc., the author as it were, sits down by

main points in their structure. There is little method in the plan
of the book, and the reader is not bewildered with a "natural

anatomy. The book is sumptuously printed and hound.

BOTANY.

Sequoia sempervirens. — At a recent meeting of the California
Academy of Sciences, Dr. A. W. Saxo made a preliminary report
on a grove of colossal redwood trees that have been discovered on
the course of the San Lorenzo, which takes its rise near Saratoga,
in Santa Clara County, and debouches into the Bay of Monterey,

.372

at Santa Cruz. The trees are in a forest around the head-waters
of the stream. One of them eclipses all that have been discovered
on the Pacific Coast. Its circumference as high as a man can.
reach, .standing and passing a tape line around, is a few inches
less than one hundred and fifty feet. This is beyond the measure-
ment of any of the Sequoias (gigantea) in the' Calaveras Grove.
The height is estimated at one hundred and sixty feet, and a part
of the top lying on the ground riven off by lightning, or a
tornado, is over one hundred feet in length. The other trees in
the vicinity are not as large, but all are of immense girth. Dr.
Saxe promised to get information more in detail from the Pres-
ident of a flume company in that section.

This region has but recently been explored, and what other
marvels of vegetation it contains, remains to be seen. The
stumps of redwood trees of immense proportions, have been re-
ported, from time to time, to the Academy, by explorers in the Mt.
Diable range along the hills back of Oakland, but now we are
likely to have further discoveries of these majestic conifers in all
their glory, height, diameter and foliage. — R. E. C. S.

Sullivantia Ohionis, Toit. & Gray.— I have just been col-
lecting a large quantity of this rare and beautiful little plant.
It grows in great abundance about four miles from the college, in
a dark, well-wooded ravine, known as "Clifty Ravine." It is
found clinging to the damp limestone cliffs just above Clifty Falls,
and is rapidly spreading down the ravine. It is a charming little
plant and is invariably found with its roots buried in a bunch of
damp moss, as if to prove to us that it belongs to Dr. Sullivant
and loves what he did. In the description, as given in Gray's
Manual, there is omitted one character which is always the first
one to attract the attention, even of the casual observer. Upon
slmwin-- fresh specimens to persons 1 have never failed to hear
the exclamation, " what pretty shiny leaves !" And it is a fact,
for there is always a beautiful gloss upon the leaves as if covered
with a fine coat of varnish. Clifty Falls, Jefferson Co., Ind., must
now be added to Highland Co., Ohio, and the Wisconsin river.
—John M. Coulter, Hanover College, Hanover, Ind., July 21st.

Puccini a malvaceaeum, has probably been for many years in
the United States. Some thirty years ago I found the hollyhock
in all old gardens where it used to self-sow, annually, and take

573

care of itself generally. A few years after I endeavored to intro-
duce the improved "Cater" hollyhocks from England. They
did remarkably well the first year, but the next were attacked by
a small fungus which destroyed the leaves almost as fast as they
appeared ; and it was with difliculty they could be had to retain
strength enough to flower at all. Finally, they were all destroyed
before flowering, as were the common single ones in the gardens.
Since the discovery in England that Puccinia malvacearum causes
a disease like this, I have endeavored to find a specimen in order
to identify the species, but I have failed, as the whole race of
hollyhock about here seems to have disappeared.— Thomas
Meehan.

ZOOLOGY.

Oporornis formosus breeding in Eastern New York. — A few
days ago, while out collecting with a friend, we were attracted by
the alarm note of a bird, which he shot, and it proved to be a
male of the Kentucky warbler. In passing out of the woods,
which were overgrown with ferns and other perennials, we
started a female from the ground, and after a careful search we
found the nest, which was slightly elevated from the ground, com-
posed of dry chestnut leaves and coarse grass, and lined with horse
hair. The eggs, which were three in number, were white, thickly
marked with small reddish- brown spots on the larger end. The
nest was scarcely more than twenty feet from the public road.
As I have not heard of its nest being found before in New York,
I thought it might possibly be interesting to some of your readers.
—A. K. Fisher, Sing Sing, N. Y., June 19, 1875.

The Purple Gallinule. — A fine specimen of the Purple
Gallinule, was shot at "Henry's Pond," "South End" Rockport,
Mass., on April 12th, by Mr. Robert Wendel. — G. P. Whitman.

Caloptenus spretus in Massachusetts.— Specimens not differ-
ing in any appreciable respect on comparison with California n exam-
ples occurred in September at Amherst, Mass. — A. S. Packard, Jr.

GEOLOGY.

Interesting Fossils from Illinois.— -At a recent meeting of
the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Professor Cope

574

stated that he had recently received from Mr. John Collett, of the
Geological Survey of Indiana, a number of vertebrate remains
from some point in Illinois. The specimens were taken from a
blackish shale and consist of separate vertebrae, and other parts
of the skeleton, often in a fragmentary condition. Although the
absence of information as to the mutual relations of the pieces
. renders the identification difficult, yet the interest attaching to
them, in consequence of their peculiar forms and the locality of
their discovery, renders it important to determine their zoological
position. Mr. Collett informed Prof. Cope that all the specimens
were found near together and at the same horizon.

A remarkable peculiarity of all the vertebras of the series is a

in the livin- lizards of the genus Sphenodun of New Zealand.
The bones of the limbs and scapular arches are so decidedly rep-
tilian, and so unlike those of any Batrachia with which we are yet
acquainted, that they probably belong to the former class. They
constitute the first definite indication of the existence of reptiles
of the order Rhynclwcephalia, in the Western Hemisphere. They
belong to two species of two new genera which were named re-
spectively, Cricotus heteroclitus and Clepsy drops Collettii.

Associated with these saurians were found teeth of two species
of fishes, which are important in the evidence of the position of
the beds in which they occur. One of these is a new species of
Ceratodus and the other a Diplodus. The former genus is charac-
teristic of the Triassic period in Europe, one species having been
found in the Oolite. It still lives in North Australia. In both
these respects the lizards mentioned present a remarkable coinci-
dence. They also belong to the horizon of the Trias in Europe,
and the only living species is found in New Zealand. Thus it
would seem that a fragment of this fauna, so ancient in the
Northern Hemisphere and so remarkably preserved in the South-
ern, has been brought to light in Illinois. It must be added, in
reference to the geologic age of the fossils, that the genus Dip-
lodus has not yet been discovered above the carboniferous, and
that one genus of the family of lizards described belongs to the
Permian in Germany. It cannot therefore be determined at
pre.-eiit whether the formation in which they occur is Triassic or
Permian.

MICROSCOPY.

Spencer Microscopes.— Charles A. Spencer & Sons of Can-
astota, N. Y., announce the transfer of their enterprise to the
Geneva Optical Co., of Geneva, N. Y., and state that almost un-
limited facilities will enable them to supply customers with genu-

promise which will prove attractive to those who have learned In-
experience that microscope-work, on the average, can be more
safely ordered as a legacy for one's heirs than with any reasonable
expectation of its being received in time to be of any use to him-
self. Besides their usual forms of stand, and the more useful ac-
cessories, the Spencers announce two series of objectives, — a series
of from 4 inch to -fe inch focus, of extremely large angle and
price to match, and a series of. very judiciously chosen low angles
at a very moderate price. The name of Spencer is connected,
more radically Mian any other, with the development of the modern
high-angled objective, and it is interesting, though of course not
decisive, to know that the distinguished workers bearing this name,
so far from having lost faith in the fact or the utility of extreme
angles, continue to announce the almost incredible angles of '>0°
for the 1 inch, and 175° for nearly everything from the { upwards.
The acceptance of the term ocular in place of eye-piece is a nota-
ble contribution to an improved nomenclature.

Mounting Stained Leaves— Mr. G. Pirn exhibited, at the
January meeting of the Dublin Microscopical Club, leaves mounted
in Deane's Gelatine, which were so transparent that the tissues
throughout could be readily examined by merely focussing down
to the required level. They were bleached in a solution of chlo-

nitric acid, and after washing stained with carmine solution.

Coloring Matter of "Red snow."— This minute vegetable
organism, P,otococrus nivalis, whose growing form is green, but
whose bright red resting spores have given to it its familiar name,
has been recently examined under the micro-spectroscope by Dr.
J. G. Hunt, who states that its coloring matter leaves unchanged
the red, orange and yellow portions of the spectrum, but entirely
absorbs the violet portion.

(575)

NOTES.

The meeting of the British Association for the Advancement
of Science, held at Bristol during the last week in August, is
pronounced a decided success in all of its many sections. Over
2200 persons belonging to the Association, consisting of members,
associates and ladies, were present, and a very large number of
papers were read, many of the sections holding until the last hour
of the meeting. The arrangements of the committees having
charge of the meeting, and the hospitality of the citizens of
Bristol, are said to have been all that could be desired. The
address of the President, Sir John Hawkshaw, is most instructive
and interesting, and the addresses of the several gentlemen pre-
siding over the sections are what would be expected of men so
distinguished in their respective departments. We cannot do
better than to advise our readers to peruse the very full reports
of the addresses and more important papers given in "Nature,"
for Sept. 2, and following numbers.

The next meeting will be held in Glasgow, on Sept. 6, 1876,
under the presidency of Sir Robert Christison.

An Ohio State Archaeological Convention, was organized
at Mansfield, Ohio, on Sept. 1. We have only seen an account of
the proceedings of the first day, and do not yet know what results
were attained towards a permanent organization. About fifty dele-
gates were present. Papers were read and discussed and speci-
mens exhibited.

The French Association for the Advancement of Science,
held its meeting at Nantes, during the last of August, and was
largely attended. Many papers were read in the several sections
and the meeting was regarded as quite successful. Full reports are
given in the "Revue Scientifique" for Aug. 28, and following weeks.

The Iowa Academy of Sciences was organized in August Last.
Its 1 ir; :id quail ers will be at Iowa City. The present officers are : —
President ^FroL Bessey, of Ames ; Vice President, Dr. Middleton,of
Davenport ; Secretary and Treasurer, Prof. Preston, of Iowa City.
(57(5)

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. IX. -NOVEMBER, 1875.- No. 11.

ADDRESS
PROF. H. A. NEWTON*

Members of the American Association for the Advance-

LIFE-HISTORIES OF THE CRUSTACEA AND INSECTS.

(583)

Development of the Copepods. As the true Copepods and their
allies, the fish-lic'e or Siphonostounitous Copepods, travel the same

ment of Nebalia is apparently identical with that of Oniscus, as
studied by Bobretzky, and probably all the Tetradecapods. and
also with that of perhaps the majority of the Decapods. As in
Oniscus the segmentation is partial, the blastodermic cells arising
from the subdivision of a polar cell, finally forming a blastodermic

appendages arise ; these corresponding to the two pairs of an-

men is distinct from the cephalothorax, but on the whole the em-
bryo may be said to pa>s through a naiiplius stage.

mnltaneously, the abdomen increases considerably in length, when
the ten other pairs of foliaceous feet spring forth. Meanwhile
the bivalved carapace grows out from behind the eyes, covering
the cephalothorax and base of the abdomen. The young hatches
soon after the shield is developed and the further changes are but
slight.

The Nebalia, then, in brief, passes through the following stages :

1. Partial segmentation of the yolk.

2. Nauplius stage (in the egg).

3. Larval form like the adult ; with no metamorphosis.

Development of the Tetrodempods. Much good work has been
done since the days of Rathke, on the mode of growth of the fresh

and salt water sow-bugs, etc. (Isopods), and the beach fleas (Am-
phipods). The development of the Asellus aquations of Europe
has been studied by E. Van Beneden. He found that the seg-
mentation of the yolk is partial ; that after a blastodermic moult
the two pairs of antenna; are formed before the mandibles and

time the embryo moults again. Like all Tetradecapods the young

tacea. with the improved means of examination instituted mainly
by Kowalevsky, is that of Oniscus mumrius, a sow-bug, by Dr.
N. Bobretzky, a student of the eminent Russian zoologist. The
following is an abstract of his paper. The egg is provided with a
chorion and yolk skin. The first change after fertilization is the
origin of the formative or original blastodermic cells, which arise
at one pole of the egg. As a result of the self-division of the
•"ingle primitive blastodermic cell, there arises a disk corresponding
to the primitive streak of other articulates, consisting of a single
layer of large spheres of segmentation. It thus appears that the

Before one-half of the surface of the egg is covered, the middle
and inner germ-layers are indicated by a mass of eells in the con-
cavity of the outer layer, resulting from the division of some cells
Of the outer layer. This primitive mass is the lii-t indication of

they press, (fie finds this" to be the case also in Crangon and
Palaeinon.) There are, then, three germ-layers as in the verte-
brates.

The primitive disk, or streak, then forms by the cells of the
outer layer assuming a cylindrical form. The first indication of
the intestine is an invagination of the hinder end of the primitive
band. A larval skin, like that of Asellus and other Crustacea,

finds that, contrary to Kowalevsky 4 opinion, the inner germ-layer

limbs grow out, a cross-section shows that it is due to a bulging
out of the outer germ-layer, the cavity being tilled with cells of
the middle layer. Now appear the first indications of the liver, a
layer of large cells forming the liver sac. After the appendages

GOO

Development of the Decapods. When we come to the stalk-eyed
Crustacea, such as the shrimps and crabs, we are introduced to

phosis, as first shown by Thompson. The life-history "of a Deca-
pod is full of interest and significance, as the phases which some
present from the larval stage up are as varied and astonishing as
the biography of any animal known. In the group as a whole,

great detail and complexity of form, the animal -hitting its garb
as if an actor with many parts to perform in the drama of life,
while in its co-species these phases may be mostly suppressed, and

the narrow compass of the ('.'--shell.

One Decapod, the shrimp Penams, studied by Fritz Midler, on
the coast of Brazil, is an exception to all other stalk-eyed Cms-
life. On the other hand, there is the common lobster, or fresh

pressed, under-one in the eg- and uhieh hatches in nearly or
quite a similar form to the fully grown animal. Between these
stages there are all grades in other Crustacea.

species which undergo a metamorphosis, quite similar mode.
The yolk so far as known (Scyllarus, Astacus, etc.) undergoes
partial segmentation : no case of a total division is as yet known.
After the formation of a short round primitive streak, or band,
the limbs arise. In several cases observed by Dohrn, the three
anterior pairs of limbs, namely, the two antenna} and the mandi-
bles were developed simultaneously and before the others appear.
The embryo may with truth, then, as Dohrn states, be said to pass

passes through a iNh-like -tag.-. He observed this nauplius-stage

formerly Mysis-like appearance and closely resembles the adult

608 LIFE-HISTORIES OF THE CRUSTACEA AND INSECTS.

boid bodies, like those in the mites, moving about in the egg,

1K \\\mi!,\v come to llLlevelopnientof the Thousand-legs (Fig. 202)

last ring of the body.

larva is provided with nearly the full number of feet on the rest
of the body, there being no metamorphosis. The body, at first
cylindrical, afterwards becomes flattened. Thus the Centipedes
may be said in some degree to pass through a Julus condition,
and at all events, both morphologically and embryologically, the
Centipede is a more highly developed creature than the Thousand-
legs, a view we have always taken, but felt was rather based on a
priori conceptions than on a sure basis of facts, now happily af-
forded by the beautiful researches of Metschnikoff. To sum up
the phases of development of the Myriopods we have, then : —

1. Morula stage.

2. A hexapod larva (Leptus form) as in the Thousand-legs ; or,
as in the Centipedes, there is no metamorphosis, the young being
like the parent.

3. Adult.

Development of the Mites. Coming now to the mites and spi-
ders, we find some peculiar features in the life-history of the
former which deserve attention, though space compels us to be
brief at the risk of being obscure. Most mites pass through a
metamorphosis, some undergoing striking changes within the egg.
For example, the Atax Bonzi, which is a parasite on the gills of
fresh water muscles, first hatches in an oval form enveloped in
a membrane (deutovum). From this "deutovum " is developed a
six-footed larva. In this second larva state it is free, moving over
the gills of the mussels, finally boring into the flesh of its host to
undergo its next transformation. Here the young mite increases
in size and becomes round. The tissues soften, the limbs are
short and much larger than before, the animal assuming an em-
bryo-like appearance, and moving about like a rounded mass in
its enclosure. After a moult it assumes the so-called " pupa-
state." During this process the limbs grow much shorter and :.iv
folded beneath the body, the animal being immovable, while the
whole body assumes a broadly ovate form, and looks like an em-
bryo just before hatching, but still lying within the egg.

In the genus Myobia, a parasite of the European field-mouse,

there is not only a " deutovum," but also what Claparede calls a
" tritovum-stage," there being two stages with distinct embryonal
membranes before the six-legged free larval state is assumed, the
larva when hatching having thrown off two membranes, as well as
the egg-shell. Certain bird-mites pass through four stages to
reach the male condition, while the females pass through as many
as five before attaining sexual Fig. aw.

blance to other mites and are Tick and Six lcgged Youn s-
often mistaken for intestinal worms. I refer to the Pentastoma
and Linguatula. Here the metamorphosis is backwards, the young
after passing through a morula condition, being born as short,
plump, oval mites, provided with boring horny jaws, but with only
two short rudimentary legs.

Finally, we come to those problematical forms, the sea-spiders,
or Pycnogonidie, which are often referred to the Crustacea, whose
development has been so faithfully studied by Dr. Dohrn. The
yolk undergoes total segmentation, and the young are hatched
with three pairs of legs, which after moulting attain in some spe-

To sum up, then, certain mites pass through either —

1. A Morula state, or the yolk only partially divides.

2. Sometimes one or two embryonal stages (deutovum and

3. A six-legged larval state.

4. Eight-legged "pupal" state.

The water-bears or Tan lignidos
are born with four pairs of legs,
not undergoing any metamorpho-
sis. Not so, however, with cer-
tain worm-like mites, which by

maturity. Fig. 265 illu.-tnitcs
the six-legged larva of the tick,
which is simply a large mite. The

one, as in the spiders.

5.

Development of the Spider. From the life-history of one spider

of development of all those species whose growth has been yet
observed. The eggs are laid usually in silken cocoons. All un-
dergo partial segmentation of the yolk, which is surrounded by

624

NOTES.

accordingly be sent to II. O. Houston & Co.. Huston, Mass.

T IHZ IE

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. IX. -DECEMBER, 1875. — No. 12.

MODE OF GROWTH OF THE LOWER VERTEBRATES.

OF GROWTH OF THE LOWER VERTEBRATES. 643

ie gills persist long after the hind limbs are devel-
n). While as a rule the eggs of newts or salaman-
1 the water, the red-backed salamander lays its eggs
in damp places on land, though the young
are provided with gills. Fig. 302 (after
Hoy) represents the young of Ambhjstoma
lurida on the tenth day after hatching, the
lower figure the natural size of the freshly
hatched young. In the Surinam toad and
Larval Salamander. Hylfl> ^ the is]and of Maurit ius there is no

metamorphosis, the young hatching with the form of the adult.
The Siredon or Axolotl of Mexico, according to Dumeril, lays
eggs, though a larva, while, Fig. 303.

as in the Axolotl, the lar-

tium, oriffinallv described
as an adult animal under
the name of Siredon liche-
noides (Fig. 303, from Ten-
ney's Zoology) has been
found by Professor Marsh °"' c " on 01 ,arva ' * ; ™" l,t; '-

to drop its gills and assume its adult form when brought to the
sea level, its original habitat being the lakes situated in the Rocky
Mountains at an altitude of 4,500-7,000 feet.

Professor Owen has well summed up the wonderful changes
undergone in these metamorphoses, which arc exactly paralleled
by those of the vegetarian larval gnat with biting jaws and gills
into the blood-sucking volant, .air-breathing fly; entirely new
organs replacing the deciduous ones of the larva, and the body

phoses of the Batrachia," says the distinguished comparative
anatomist, "we seem to have such process carried on before our
eyes to its extremest extent. Not merely is one specific form
changed to another of the same genus ; not merely is one generic
modification of an order substituted for another, the transmuta-
tion is not even limited by passing from one order (Urodela) to
another (Anoura) ; it affects a transition from class to class. The
Fish becomes the Frog ; the aquatic animal changes to the terres-
trial one ; the water-breather becomes the air-breather ; an insect
diet is substituted for a vegetable one. And these changes, more-

over, proceed gradually, continuously, and without any interrup-
tion of active life. The larva having started into independent
existence as a fish, does not relapse into the passive torpor of the
ovum to leave the organizing energies to complete their work un-
troubled by the play of the parts they are to transmute, but step
by step each organ is modified, and the behavior of the animal
and its life-sphere are the consequence, not the cause, of the
changes."

"The external gills are not dried and shrivelled by exposure to
the air, nor does the larva gain its lungs by efforts to change its
element and inhale a now respiratory medium. The beak is shed,
the jaws and tongue are developed, and the gut shortened, before
the young Frog is in a condition to catch a single fly. The em-
bryo acquires the breathing and locomotive organs — gills and com-
pressed tail— while imprisoned in tbe ovum ; and the tadpole ob-
tains its luiiLTs and land-limbs while a denizen of the pool ; action
and reaction between the germ and the gelatinous atmosphere of
the yolk, or between the larva and its aqueous atmosphere, have
no part in these transmutations. The Batrachian is compelled to
a new sphere of life by antecedent obliterations, absorptions and
developments, in which external influences and internal efforts
have no share."

While the passage we have quoted is an attack against La-
marckianism, we do not see but that in a long course of genera-
tions of the ancestors of the present species of amphibians, the
metamorphoses may have become gradually established, finally be-
coming the normal history of each individual ; the changes of the
individual epitomizing the successive steps in the collective life-
history of the entire group of Amphibians. That changes in the
physical surroundings induce important modification of structure
is seen in the exceptional mode of metamorphosis of the Surinam
Pipa, or the Hyla of Mauritius, and on the other hand, in the
prematurity of the axolotl, which near the level of the sea drops
its gills, while five or six thousand feet above the sea it retains its

To' recapitulate, we have the following stages of development
in the Amphibia :

1. Morula (segmentation total).

2. The embryo develops as in the bony fishes.

3. Young with external gills hatching with a fish-like form, but

•rphosis being suppresi
5 in the Menobranchus
opped, as in the toad i

Development of the Reptiles. We now come to study the embry-
ology of those vertebrates in which there is an important embry-
onal membrane, the amnion, developed, besides an allantois. The
eggs of reptiles from their abundant supply of yolk cells, and the
early stages of the embryo, are so much like those of birds that
the reader is referred to the account of the early stages of the
chick for a more complete account of the early phases of embry-
onic life in the reptiles.

As with birds, the eggs are enormous in size, and like those of
the ostrich they are laid in the sand, and are left by the parent to
be hatched by the warmth of the sun.

Professor H. J. Clark, in his " Mind in Nature," tells us that of
all eggs those of turtles are by far the most easily preserved in a
healthy state during the time of incubation. "All that is required
to obtain them is to collect a number of turtles in early spring,
before May, and keep them enclosed in some shady spot where
they can have easy access to water and soft earth, and to feed them
well with fresh herbage, such as plantain-leaves, lettuce, beet-
leaves, etc., etc., and in the course of time, usually in May and
June, they may be caught, at early dawn, digging holes in the
earth with their hind legs, and depositing therein their brood of
eggs, and then covering them up."

The lizards, snakes, and crocodiles, lay their eggs in sand or
light soil, the iguana in the hollows of trees, while certain lizards
and snakes are viviparous. Agassiz has discovered the extraor-
dinary fact that in turtles fecundation does not appear to be an
instantaneous act, resulting from one successful connection of the
sexes, as it is with most animals, but - a repetition of the act, thrice
every year, for four successive years, is necessary to determine

the final development of a new individual, which may be accom-
plished in other animals by a single copulation." From the same
source we learn that Chrysemys (Emys) picta does not lay its egga
before the eleventh year. Our other turtles probably lay their
eggs from the eleventh to the fourteenth year, according to the
species. The operation takes place in the month of June, both at

effect upon this particular function.

Before segmentation of the yolk the nucleus, or germinal vesicle,
undergoes self-division. According to Agassiz and Clark kt this
takes place, at least to a certain extent, without the influence of
fecundation within a year, but at the same time has been seen only
in those eggs which have been expelled from the ovary. Finally
they become the original cells, " the primitive embryonic cells " en-
gaged in the composition of the different organs of the body. In
the bony fishes, according to CEllacher, the germinal vesicle is
ejected bodily from the germinal disk, and Foster and Balfour
think this fate awaits that of the birds. In insects the germinal
vesicle is supposed to undergo self-division and form the nuclei
of the cells of the blastoderm.

The segmentation of the yolk has been fully observed in Glyp-
temys (Emys) insculpta. The process of segmentation is not so
regular, and there does not seem to be always, in the beginning,
a symmetrical halving of the embryonic area, as has been observed
among birds ; but in other respects it resembles what takes place
within the eggs of the latter animals, and finally results in shap-
ing out the embryonic disk." Agassiz and Clark, from whom we
have quoted, think, however, that, from certain phenomena ob-
served by them, the whole mass of the yolk becomes segmented.

The formation of the primitive streak, the amnion, allantois,
and chorda dorsalis, are much as observed in the chick, and for
an account of the early stages of the embryo reptiles, the reader
is referred to the chapter on the embryology of birds. The lungs
arise as hollow sacs projecting from the sides of the throat ; the
liver is a thickening of the same membrane from which the stom-

connection with the posterior^end of the^ntestine."

By the time that the heart has become three-chambered, the
vertebrae have reached the root of the tail, the eyes have be-
come entirely enclosed in complete orbits, and the allantois begins

3 end of the

The shield begins to develop by a budding out laterally of the
musculo-cutancous layer along the sides of the body, and the
growth of narrow ribs extending to the edge of the shield. "The
feet, or rather paddles, of the lower forms of turtles, the Chelon-
ioidae, do not remain in a partially undeveloped state, as might be
expected from what is observed among other vertebrates, but un-
dergo what may be called an excess of development ; the bones
of the toes becoming very much elongated, and the web— which
rerr s ft n ; turtles with moderately elongated toes,

that the whole foot is almost as rigid as the blade of an oar. At
this time the embryo of Chdydra serpentina snaps at everything
which touches it.

Of the development of the Sauriasis, or lizards, we have no com-
plete account. The advanced embryo of the lizard, as figured by
Owen (443), is like that of the turtle without its shell.

As regards the development of snakes, Owen, deriving his in-
formation from Rathke's work, tells us that in the oviparous

e_-_ ; - !:■; v..\r.-- ■ > - : : -- ■ :■■ : ■■ ■ ' ■ > ■■■ ■ : -
deposited. By this time the amnion is perfected, "the head is

in 1 ma mlar processes 11 t 1 s is ab shir-, s the

head." The long trunk of the serpent grows in a series oi de-

• ; ■ , : . ' . . ; - ■; - ; . a: v.,-

latter third of embryonic life the right lung appears as a mere
appendage to the beginning of the left.

A summary of the changes in the egg undergone by the reptiles
is as follows:

1. Segmentation partial, possibly total (morula?).

embryonal membranes appear.

3. Formation of an amnion.

4. After the alimentary canal is sketched out, the allantois buds

5. The shield of the turtle develops and the reptilian features

6. The embryo hatches in the form of the adult, there being no

Development of Birds. So much alike are all the living species
of birds that the embryology of a single kind is in all pi
a type of that of the others. The development of the domestic
fowl has been studied in more detail than any other vertebrate,
since it is easy to hatch the eggs artificially, and from their large
size they can be examined more readily than the eggs of fishes.
Our account of the embryology of birds will be talten from the
admirable account by Foster and Balfour in their "Elements of
Embryology," and we shall freely use their work, often quoting
them, word for word, where it is not possible to farther condense

The eggs of the hen are fertilized in the upper extremity of the
oviduct, whether before or after the 11 white" of the egg is depos-
ited is unknown, but at any rate before the shell is deposited

First day. As the first result of impregnation the germinal
vesicle disappears, probably being, judging from the analogy of
the bony fishes, bodily ejected from the germinal disk. Then be-
gins the process of segmentation of the yolk, which goes on at
about the time the shell is formed. Segmentation is partial, being
restricted to the germinal disk of the ovarian egg; the result is
the formation of the blastodermic disk, which is the beginning of
the emliryo, resting on the upper surface of the yolk and appear-
ing as a pale round spot seen in the freshly laid egg. This blas-
toderm at first eonsi.-,ts of two layers of cells, the upper made up
of nucleated cells, and the lower of irregular rounded masses
called " formative cells."

IS T ow begins the marking out of the embryo, which develops in
the "area pellucida" a transparent rim (encompassed by the
" area opaca ") surrounding the blastoderm. The first step is the
origin of an inner germ-layer, the two others having previously

germ-layers found in all

the heart and the vascular system or blood-vessels, and the stom-
ach and intestines. The third and innermost layer is called
the " hypoblast," By the sixth or eighth hour these three mem-
branes become definitely established. The middle layer now
thickens and thus causes the appearance known as the " primitive
streak," along the middle of which runs the depression known as
the " primitive groove." In front of the primitive groove appears
the " medullary groove," and below it the notoehord or " chorda
dorsalis" originates from the cells of the middle layer. This
notoehord (Fig. 304, ch) lies directly beneath the medullary tube

(mr) and between the outer and third germ-layer in the form of a
flattened circular rod. The blastoderm is now folded anteriorly
like the letter S ; this is called the " head-fold," and soon after
the "tail-fold " is formed in a similar way. These two folds meet
in the middle thus forming the body of the embryo.

Next the primitive groove and streak disappear as the sides of
the medullary groove rise up, when they finally meet, forming the

About this period the first pair of protovertebrse make their
appearance. They arise from the mcsoblast as two cubical masses
(Fig. 304 1 , u iv) lying one on each side of the -notoehord. Two
more pairs appeal- hrhind the fust pair before the first day is

ended. " Out of the protovertebrae are formed not only the per-
manent vertebrae, but also the superficial dorsal as well as certain

other muscles and the spinal nerves. The pair of protovertebrae
first formed cor esponds not with the first cervical vertebra of the
adult chick, but rather with the third or even fourth ; for though

the whole blastoderm can be removed from the egg with much
greater ease than before. The head-fold has now become more
prominent than before. The nerve-tube, at first of uniform thick-
ness dilates anteriorly forming the first cerebral vesicle, and the
6econd and third cerebral vesicles successively form, the proto-
vertebrae increase rapidly, and soon the embryonic chick presents
the appearance of the embryo rabbit of nearly the same age.

The alimentary canal commences as a cut de sac, closed in front
but widely open behind, situated below the anterior end of the
medullary tube. The heart originates also in the head-fold at
about the time the protovertebrse are formed, and the rudiment is
situated below the fore gut or rudiment of the alimentary canal :
by the end of the first half of the second day it is flask-shaped,
with a slight bend to the right. " Soon after its formation the
heart begins to beat, its at first slow and rare pulsations beginning
at the venous and passing on to the arterial end." Its movements
begin before the cells of which it is composed are differentiated
into muscle or nerve-cells. To provide channels for the fluid
pressed out by the contractions of the heart, the heart divides into
the two primitive aortse, and connects with other embrybnic tem-
porary arteries and veins. Meanwhile in the vascular area and
area pellncida, the arteries, capillaries and veins rapidly develop,
and blood disks arise as amoeba-like cells separating from the adja-
cent cell-mass of the mesoblast (middle germ-layer), while the
vessels are contemporaneously forming ; the red blood corpuscles
not being true cells, but nuclei. The first half of the second day
ends with the rise of the rudiment of the Wolffian duct. " It is
important to remember that the embryo of which we are now
speaking is simply a part of the whole germinal membrane, which
is gradually spreading over the surface of the yolk. It is impor-
tant also to bear in mind that all that part of the embryo which is
in front of the most anterior protovertebrae corresponds to the
future head, and the rest to the neck, body and tail. At this

653

period the head occupies nearly a third of the whole length of the
embryo" (Foster and Balfour).

In the second half of the second day, among the most important
changes are the appearance of the second and third cerebral vesi-
cles, the optic vesicles, while the " first rudiment of the ear is
formed as an involution of the epiblast on the side of the hind

Third day. This day is one of the most eventful, as the rudi-
ments of so many important organs now first appear. First, the
embryo, now almost completely enveloped by the amnion, turns
around so as to lie on its left side. The heart, originally formed
under where the brain is destined to lie, moves backward into the
trunk, mid by this time (the third day) the neck has been formed,
in which appears the four branchial fissures, the most anterior
being formed first. It is these temporary fissures which corres-
pond to the branchial fissures of Amphioxus. "On account of
this resemblance— in fact by some assumed as an identity both in

the branchial fissures (compare Fig. 288) and the vessels ^passing

the |,:i>s;,^s between the gills of fishes, and the latter with the
vessels which supply the gills with blood" (Clark's Mind in Na-
ture, p. 311).

In fact the embryo bird in some respects is now as far advanced
in organization as the Lancelet, and may be rudely compared with
that animal, though the incipient neck, head and brain are features
which the Lancelet lacks.

The eye commences as a lateral outgrowth of the fore brain,
in the form of a stalked vesicle subsequently converted into the
optic nerve, while the lens is formed by an involution of the skin
of the body (outer germ-layer) over the front end of the optic
vesicle. The ear is also at first simply an involution of the outer
germ-layer (epiblast) forming a pit, or " otic vesicle," which is
destined to form the internal ear, containing the bones and other
parts of the inner ear. The nose* begins as two shallow pits
formed by the sinking in of the outer germ-layer. Each of these
pits is situated next to the olfactory vesicles (afterwards nerves),
but at first there is no connection between the pits and the nerves
as between the pits and the mouth, which is in fact not yet formed,
since it arises afterwards as an extension inward of the cleft be-

illae arise from the first fold, the upper jaws being two branches of
the fold, the fold itself being the under jaw, while a lozenge-
shaped cavity between the fold and its branches becomes the

Meanwhile, for all the changes in the different organs are going

■ •

oping, us well as the separation of the hind-brain into the cerebrel-
lnm and nwAulla obUnujata. The digestive cavity is during the third
day also, differentiated into the fore-gut and hind-gut, the former
farther subdividing into the oesophagus, stomach and duodenum,
and the hind-gut into the large intestine and cloaca. The lungs
arise as two pocket-like appendages of the alimentary canal im-
mediately in front of the stomach; while the liver is originally
two diverticula, and the pancreas a single offshoot from the duo-
Fourth day. With a decided increase in size by this day, the
amnion becomes more distinct, and the allantois is visible. The
wings and legs now appear as flattened conical buds arising from
the "Wolffian ridge," a low ridge running from the neck to the
tail, those forming the wings being scarcely distinguishable from

The olfactory grooves appear at this time and the partition
heretofore existing between the mouth and throat is absorbed and

The protovertebrae have, by this time, increased in number from
thirty to forty. The upper portion (muscle-plate) having previ-
ously separated to form the muscles inserted in the skeleton (epi-
sketal muscles of Huxley), has left the remainder of each proto-

enclosing the nerve-canal. On the lower side each protovertebra
sends out a similar growth enclosing the notochord. " While the
inner portion of each protovertebra is thus extending inwards
around both notochord and neural canal, the remaining outer por-
tion is undergoing a remarkable change. It becomes divided into
an anterior or praeaxial, and a posterior or postaxial segment.
The anterior, which is the larger and more transparent of the two,
is the rudiment of the spinal ganglion and nerve, while the pos-

656 MODE OF GROWTH OP THE LOWER VERTEBRATES.

digits and limbs ; as well as the formation of the primitive skull,
with the development of the parts of the face, and the formation
of the anus.

The cranium, from the researches of Rathke, Parker and others,
is formed from the middle germ-layer, and in the fourth day is
simply membranous ; after that time the tissue composing it be-
comes cartilage. After the fourth day the primitive skull consists
of two portions, i.e., a sheet of cartilage ensheathing the noto-
chord from its anterior end to the first vertebra. " This sheet of
cartilage forms an iinsegmented continuation of the vertebral bod-
axial skeleton, in which the segmentation has become obliterated ;
and as such is equivalent not to one, but to a (hitherto not cer-
tainly determined) number of vertebne." (Foster and Balfour.
For the farther changes in the development of the skull the reader
is referred to Parker's memoir on the Development of the Skull
of the Common Fowl, or the excellent, illustrated abstract in
Foster and Balfour's "Elements.")

Not until the sixth day are distinct bird-characters developed.
Hitherto it would be almost impossible to distinguish the embryo
from a reptile or mammal. During the sixth and seventh day the
wing and foot assume a bird form, the crop and intestinal cceca
make their appearance, "the stomach takes the form of a gizzard,
and the nose begins to develop into a beak, while the incipient
bones of the skull arrange themselves after the avian type. . . .
From the eleventh day onwards the embryo successively puts on

genus, species and variety." By the ninth or tenth day the
feathers originate in sacs in the skin, these sacs by the eleventh
day appearing to the naked eye as feathers, the sacs however re-
maining closed as late as the nineteenth day, though many are an
inch in length. ^ 'Id

"By the thirteenth day the cartilaginous skeleton is completed,
and the various muscles of the body can be made out with toler-
able clearness. Ossification begins, according to Von Baer, on the

carpal bones of the hind-limb, and in the scapula. On the eleventh
or twelfth day a multitude of points of ossification make their ap-
pearance in the limbs, in the scapular and pelvic arches, in the

ceo

My next work was to see what prevented the escape of the
animal from the bladder, and to this end I directed all my atten-
tion for several days. The animal that I found most commonly
entrapped was a Chironomus larva, about the length of the mos-
quito larva, but more slender and of lighter color. I have fre-
quently trapped these snake-like larva; and seen them enter the
bladders. They seem to be wholly vegetable feeders, and specially
to have a liking for the long hairs at the entrance of the bladders.
"When a larva is feeding near the entrance it is pretty certain to
run its head into the net, whence there is no retreat. A large
larva is sometimes three or four hours in being swallowed, the
process bringing to mind what I have witnessed when a small
snake makes a large frog its victim.

I worked with this larva for several days, determined, if possible,
to see him walk into the trap.

I put growing stems of the plant in a small dish of water with
several larva?, and set it aside. In a few hours thereafter I would
find the living larva? imprisoned. This served for another purpose,
but not for the object I was aiming at. Forced to give up this
plan of seeing the larva; enter the bladder, I now directed my

had the satisfaction of seeing the modus operandi by which the

The entrance into the bladder has the appearance of a tunnel-
net, always open at the large end, but closed at the other extrem-
ity. I find that the net is simply a valve turned in from the mouth
of the bladder, with the outer edge surrounded with a dense mass
of hairs, which impels the larva forward and prevents the possi-
bility of retreat. The little animals seemed to be attracted into,
this inviting retreat. They would sometimes dally about the open
entrance for a short time, but would sooner or later venture in,
and easily open or push apart the closed entrance at the other

Entomostraca too were (.('ten captured — I)aph?iia, Cyclops and
Cypris. These little animals are just visible to the naked eye, but
under the microscope are beautiful and interesting objects. The
lively little Cypris is encased in a bivalve shell, which it opens at

tufts of feathery-like filaments. This little animal was quite

602

nearly as I could make out, they lost the power of drawing their
feet back, and could only move the brush-like appendages. There
was some variation with different bladders as to the time when
maceration or digestion began to take place, but usually, on a
growing spray in less than two clays after a large larva was cap-
tured, the fluid contents of the bladders began to assume a cloudy
or muddy appearance, and often became so dense that the outline
of the animal was lost to view.

Nothing yet in the history of carnivorous plants comes so near
to the animal as this. I was forced to the conclusion that these
little bladders are in truth like so many stomachs, digest ing and
assimilating animal food. What it is that attracts this particular
larva into the bladders is left for further investigation. But here
is the fact that animals are found there, and in large numbers,
and who can deny that the plant feeds directly upon them ? The
why and wherefore is no more inexplicable than many another fact
in nature. And it only goes to show that the two great kingdoms
of nature are more intimately blended than we had heretofore
supposed, and, with Dr. Hooker, we may be compelled to say,
"our brother organisms — plants."

About the 1st of December, after I had made most of my
observations, I wrote to Dr. Asa Gray and to Mr. Darwin, both
on the same day, telling them of my discovery. Dr. Gray then
informed me that Mr. Darwin had been engaged in the same work
on Llr>i:nl<tn'<i, and also sent me a note from him, bearing date
Aug. 5. From this note it would appear that at that date he had
not worked the matter up as far as I had — at least had not found
so many imprisoned animals ; but with his superior facilities he
may have far outstripped me.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

Allen's Studies in the Facial Region. 1 — Though these essays
are for the most part jottings from lectures delivered to dental
students, naturalists will take an interest in the last chapter on
the "Nomenclature of the Teeth," while the first chapter on the
" Region of Expression," is an interesting one.

MICROSCOPY. 665
gus (jabot) The intestine proper is only a foecal reservoir. The
urinary or Malpighian tubes sometimes secrete calculi. No bile
has been found in the secretions of these tubes. A point of great
importance is touched upon by the author, namely : the passage
of the chyle from the stomach to the blood. It is well known
that there are in Articulates no lacteals as in Vertebrates to effect
this process. Plateau states that the . products of digestion pass
through the walls of the digestive canal by an osmotic action and
directly mingle with the blood.

Horny Crest on the Mandible of the Female White Peli-
can as well as the Male.— In all the standard works on the
Birds of North America, it is stated that the horny crest or
" button " on the upper mandible of the white pelican (Pelecamis
erythrorhynchus) is exclusively a male appendage. I dissected,
April 20th, 1875, an adult female of this species whose ovaries
. . . ■ .'. . 'I : . . "• ' - ill

ously elongated and also having fall-sized horny "button" on the
upper mandible. — F. H. Snow, Lawrence, Kansas.

The Western Nonpareil in Michigan.— On the 15th day of
May last, Dr. H. A. Atkins of Locke, Ingham Co., Mich., shot

I have mounted and have now in my collection, Baird, Brewer,
and liidgway's "North American Birds" contains the following
note on this species: "This beautiful species has only doubtful
claims to a place in our fauna. It is a Mexican species and may
occasionally cross into our territory. It was met with at Boquillo,
in the Mexican state of New Leon by Lieutenant Couch. It was

given by Bonaparte as from Peru. It is also found at Cape St.
Lucas, where it is not rare, and where it breeds."

It was shot in the vicinity of some Indigo birds, C. cyanea, on
the first day of their appearance in this locality. — J. M. B. Sill,
Detroit, Mich.

MICEOSCOPY.

A new warm stage for the MICROSCOPE.— Prof. E. A. Schafer
of University College, London, finding the warm stages already

in use, snch as Strieker's, described by Klein in Sanderson's Hand
Book, to be clumsy and difficult to manage with precision, has
contrived an apparatus which is moderately easy to prepare and
use, and extremely precise in its results. It consists essentially
of three parts, the stage, the hot-water reservoir, and the gas

The stage is a hollow brass-box, closed at every point except an
inlet pipe at one end and an outlet pipe at the other. Through
the centre of the stage is an opening or centre chamber for the
transmission of light through the object. This chamber is closed
above and below with cover-glasses, upon the upper of which the
object rests. It communicates with the external air by a hori-
zontal tubular opening through which a thermometer may be in-
troduced to test temperature, or tubes for the introduction of
gases or other reagents, but has no communication with the gen-
eral cavity of the stage.

The reservoir consists of a vertical brass cylinder, containing
hot water, which is heated by a gas flame below. From the top of
this reservoir the hot water passes with a slight ascent through a
flexible rubber tube to one end of the stage, through the length of
the stage and back by a descending course through a rubber tube
to the bottom of the reservoir. This is a closed circuit entirely
filled with water, the hot water rising on one side and the cooled
water falling on the other, precisely as the water pipes in the
kitchen stove or range heat the copper boiler which supplies the
hot water pipes of our houses. The reservoir is made hollow for
the reception of the gas regulator.

The gas regulator is not unlike a thermometer with the top of
the tube broken off. A steel tube with a narrow slit in one side is
cemented tightly into the top of the glass tube of the regulator,
and delivers the gas inside of the glass tube .and some distance
below its upper end. The glass tube has a side opening above the
level of the bottom of the steel tube, from which the gas is carried
by a flexible tube to the burner beneath the reservoir. The regu-
lator is filled with mercury which, when the required temperature
has been attained, is adjusted so as to just touch the bottom of
the steel tube, the flame below the reservoir being only preserved
by the gas which escapes through the slit in the steel tube, but the

667

more freely escaping gas to increase the flame. The adjustment
of the mercury to the exact height require 1 is accomplished by a
screw which works through a steel collar on the side of the glass
tube and which by working in or out gives the requisite change of
capacity to the reservoir. This adjusting screw is the most diffi-
cult part of the apparatus for construction by an amateur, and
may be omitted, the adjustment being accomplished by sliding the
steel tube up or down until its lower end just touches the mercury
after the desired temperature has been reached, in which case it,
of course, is not cemented into the glass tube but made to slide
into it through an air-tight packing. The proximity of the objec-
tive probably reduces somewhat the temperature of the object,
and if great exactness is essential,.an additional current of hot

the objective. The apparatus is described and figured in the
"Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science."

Cox's Turntable.— Miller Bros, of New York have made an

ppeared during the past ye

alter 8 tTr^suethe ^iWisteTbTMessrs. H. O. Hought
of Boston, Mass., the former proprietors having v

edited by A. S. Packarc

It is hoped that, from the sub,
duct of the magazine by kind frier

Much more matter, equivalent to over fifty pa,

ease of 1

, due to the

INDEX TO VOLUME NINE.